Map shows where heavy snowfall is forecasted as -2C temperatures freeze UK Parts of the UK could be blanketed by up to five inches of snow when a -2C chill sets in next week. New weather charts suggest the country will be hit by another Arctic blast sending temperatures back
Britain’s blistering two-day heatwave to come to a crashing end at 8pm tonight Thunderstorms are set to bring a sudden halt to the short sunny spell in southern parts of England and Wales, prompting the Met Office to issue two yellow weather warnings. Heavy rain is being forecast as the
Today’s news summary – Paper Talk: ‘Commons chaos due to threats made to MPs’
No one single story dominates Friday’s front pages, instead, a mix of domestic and international topics find space on the front splashes. However, most papers continue their coverage of Wednesday’s Commons chaos, as it emerged the Speaker of the House bent the rules due in part to fears over the safety of MPs.
‘Islamists are now in control of Britain’
‘Bullied our country into submission’
The right-wing papers are outraged at the reports the Speaker ‘ripped up’ the rule book due to fear over the safety of MPs. The papers feature articles about ‘Islamic extremists’ and ‘MPs being bullied by the far-left’. The articles push hard the belief that fear of MPs being attacked played the biggest role in why the Speaker ripped up the rule book.
The Daily Telegraph features a piece written by former Home Secretary Suella Braverman who claims “Islamists are now in control of Britain” after the Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said he ignored protocol during the Gaza debate because of threats made to MPs. Braverman claims Islamists have “bullied our country into submission” and the UK is “sleepwalking into a ghettoised society” threatening free expression and British values.
The Times’ editorial declares that fear is now a factor in British democracy because concern for the safety of MPs clearly played a major role in what the paper describes as the Speaker’s “ill-advised decision to rip up the Commons rule book.”
The Daily Mail says setting aside parliamentary procedures in response to intimidation by Islamist extremists and their far-left fellow travellers is not just intolerable, it’s is staggeringly self-defeating. It sends the message that political violence works, warns the paper.
The Sun says Parliament has surrendered to a “violent Hamas-backing mob”. In an editorial, the paper says this is a shaming, chilling, highly dangerous moment. It says the only reason why the Commons debated a ceasefire in Gaza was for left-wing MPs to assure voters that they backed the Palestinians.
The Daily Mail and the Daily Express are asking why police didn’t stop pro-Palestinian protesters from beaming a contentious slogan onto Big Ben, during the debate in Parliament. Both papers describe the phrase as genocidal. Scotland Yard said it was not a criminal offence.
The i newspaper suggests the Speaker is clinging on to his job after letters of no confidence began to emerge. Sir Lindsay has apologised multiple times for the Commons chaos.
‘Everything but the Commons chaos’
For many of the left-leaning papers, there isn’t much room for the Commons situation, with many of the papers focusing on other domestic and international stories. It’s worth noting that some of the traditional right-leaning newspapers have also opted to ditch the story – perhaps an indication that not all Tories want the Speaker ousted.
‘New Brexit deal: EU offer for closer trade ties’
The front page of the i newspaper leads on the UK’s relationship with Europe, citing EU officials who say that a new Brexit deal could be “agreed with Labour” if they win the next general election.
The Guardian’s front page reports on a study which suggested that seeing the same doctor at every visit to the GP improves patients’ health and reduces doctors’ workload. Researchers found that people seeing the same doctor have 18% longer intervals between visits compared with those who saw different doctors. That suggests that continuity of care could free up millions of appointments, says the Guardian.
The Metro leads on the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The paper refers to “tyrant” Putin’s campaign in Ukraine, which the paper says has killed at least 10,000 Ukrainians.
The Daily Telegraph’s main story reports on the lack of ammunition on the Ukrainian front line. The paper’s headline quotes a Ukrainian serviceman as saying, “I have the Russian soldiers in my sights, but no shells to fire at them.”
The Times leads on “fake tears and tricks of the charity fundraisers,” the paper says the UK’s fundraiser watchdog has launched an inquiry into door-to-door pressure-selling techniques used by a children’s charity after a Times investigation.
For the Financial Times, tech stories dominate its front page. The paper’s main story is about Nvidia, which has seen soaring profits which has helped rally the stock market and add £205bn to its value in the process. There’s also a story about Google – which has temporarily halted its AI model Gemini following a backlash about how it represents different ethnicities and genders.
The Mirror has an image of Roger Clark who has spoken to the paper following his incarceration for smuggling £1m of cocaine on a cruise ship.
The Sun leads on singer Ellie Goulding and a surf instructor, suggesting the married singer is in a new relationship.
Very sad to hear that Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal dementia, the same condition Bruce Willis suffers from. Appeared on her show many times over the years and she’s a fabulous character & superb broadcaster. Wish her and her family all the best.
Islamophobia is rampant in the Tories, as both Lee Anderson as the unsuspended Suella Braverman underline.
So why hasn’t there been an EHRC investigation? This really does tell you everything you need to know!
Palestinians are human beings who deserve to live in freedom and joy.
That is why hundreds of thousands of us have exercised our right to protest.
We will be here as long as it takes until there is an immediate ceasefire, an end to the occupation, and a just & lasting peace.
Today – Max Temp 12° – Today’s forecast for the UK will see a wet and windy start with a band of heavy rain sweeping eastwards. This will clear into the afternoon, giving way to bright spells but also scattered showers, mainly in the north-west of England.
A private US company – Intuitive Machines – has made history by becoming the first commercial outfit to put a spacecraft on the Moon. “What we can confirm, without a
Five students have been wounded in an apparent knife attack at a school in the western German city of Wuppertal. According to a teacher, the pupils were attacked with a
The mother of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has said she has been shown her son’s body but the Russian authorities are pressuring her to allow a “secret” burial.
Social media company X has confirmed that it has taken down accounts and posts related to the ongoing farmers’ protests in India. The site, formerly known as Twitter, says it
Beau Lamarre, a 28-year-old police officer, has been charged with murdering missing Australian TV personality Jesse Baird and his boyfriend Luke Davies.
Emergency services in Valencia say that a devastating fire has killed at least four individuals in a towering residential complex. The inferno consumed a 14-story building in the Campanar neighbourhood
The U.S. holiday and a sparse economic calendar will cause the London Stock Market to begin negatively today. And the knock on impact of the US closure has already sent shockwaves across Asia.
Significantly, the markets with the most movement are the ones that don’t rely on the US economy or aren’t propped up regimes. With all the Stock markets in Africa seeing positive growth today.
Asian markets started slowly amid fading hopes for early global rate cuts. Oil prices edged down in thin trade.
UK property market sees growth after 6 months
Home prices in Britain rose annually for the first time in six months, driven by increased demand from buyers, as mortgage rates have settled.
Prices climbed by 0.9% from January, consistent with the 10-year average monthly rise of 1.0% in February.
Zelensky’s crusade against Putin is putting the EU in debt
EU nations that were traditionally more conservative over how they spend their money did not want to tap capital markets together with the rest of the bloc.
And a debate is raging through the alleys in Brussels, should the EU borrow more collectively form global markets or should they stay prudent? The divide is that obvious, the smaller members want to leverage the EU’s spending power whilst the larger members, who can borrow without the EU, don’t.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said in an interview with Bloomberg that joint bonds would be a good way to boost economic growth and citing the ‘keywords’ of the bloc’s defense capacities, as justification.
However, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was very clear when he would not support joint debt at the EU level.
Who will win, the bankers or the politicians?
Apple to be hit with a 500 million Euros fine
The Financial Times reported that the European Union is gearing up to levy a fine of around 500 million euros (equivalent to $539 million) against Apple for breaches of EU competition laws.
This penalty, expected to be announced early next month, marks the culmination of an antitrust investigation by the European Commission.
Crypto currency is flying
Despite the poor market trading today, cryptocurrencies have started trading spritely, with Bitcoin seeing over a 1% rise this morning.
Etherium is up by 1.6% today and a weekly growth of 12%.
Coinbase is also doing well, the company’s 4th Quarter revenue of $954 million was over $100 million above analyst predictions.
Gold is at one-week high as soft dollar, despite the turmoil caused by Israel
Gold prices rose to a nearly one-week high on Monday as a slight pullback in the U.S. dollar and escalating tensions in the Middle East lifted bullion’s safe-haven appeal.
Spot gold was up 0.3% at $2,019.99 per ounce, as of 0530 GMT, hitting its highest since Feb. 13.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.4% to $2,031.50 per ounce. This has been fuelled by a rise in demand in the Middle East. Israel, has ransacked Palestinian banks, homes and money exchanges and looted all the gold and money. Creating more demand in the region for gold bullion.
The new United supremo in mood for glory is splattered across the back page of the Daily Mirror reports on Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s plans for Manchester United – after buying a 25% stake in the club. The British billionaire is looking to rattle Liverpool and Manchester City with the aim of knocking them ‘off their perch.’
Elsewhere, the latest results from the Premier League and Champions League make the back page.
New United supremo in mood for glory: We can rattle them 9New United supremo in mood for glory: We can rattle them 10New United supremo in mood for glory: We can rattle them 11New United supremo in mood for glory: We can rattle them 12
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s “ultimate aim” for Man Utd outlined as new owner makes promise
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has unveiled his ultimate Manchester United aim after becoming the club’s co-owner – to get the Red Devils playing really good football.
The INEOS founder has seen his £1.3billion deal to take over 27.7 per cent of the club approved and has lofty ambitions to return United to the very top. Having already made clear his ambition to overtake Manchester City and Liverpool, Ratcliffe wants to do it in style.
The United fan described the past 11 years as a ‘complete misery’. United have not won a Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson departed from the club in 2013.
“The ultimate aim is just for Manchester United to play really good football,” said Ratcliffe speaking at INEOS headquarters in London. “The only thing we’re spending time and energy on is, how do we get Manchester United back to where it should be.”
Man Utd make Mason Greenwood U-turn as Sir Jim Ratcliffe outlines plan for outcast
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has told Mason Greenwood that he could still have a future at Manchester United after all.
Greenwood was suspended by the club in January 2022 after he was arrested on suspicion of raping and assaulting a woman. He was charged 10 months later with a number of offences, but all charges were dropped 12 months ago.
However, following an internal investigation into his behaviour by United, the England striker was sent on loan to Spanish club Getafe in September until the end of the season – with it deemed unlikely he would ever play for the club again.
While Greenwood has played regularly in Spain for the Madrid-based side, the suggestion has largely been that United would sell him this summer to the highest bigger.
Injury-hit Liverpool roar back from behind to claim win after Luton shock
Liverpool produced a stirring second-half comeback to see off Luton and restore their four-point cushion at the top of the Premier League table.
Manchester City had moved to within a point with their 1-0 win over Brentford on Tuesday night and alarm bells were ringing for Jurgen Klopp’s injury-hit side when they went in 1-0 down at the break. Luton took a shock lead after 12 minutes when Tahith Chong’s shot squirmed through Caoimhin Kelleher’s legs for Chiedozie Ogbene to head in at the back post.
Luis Diaz was on a one-man mission to find an equaliser, but it wouldn’t come for Liverpool until a second-half turnaround. Virgil van Dijk powered in a header from Alexis Mac Allister’s corner before Cody Gakpo converted another cross from the Argentina international minutes later to make it 2-1. Diaz then made up for his wayward first-half finishing by producing a lovely dummy and near-post effort to make the points safe.
Declan Rice makes honest Arsenal admission with Champions League hopes in the balance
Declan Rice admitted Arsenal have “a lot to learn” after Porto dealt them a sucker punch in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Arsenal are 1-0 down on aggregate after Galeno scored a stunning late winner in the 94th minute on Wednesday. And after a frustrating encounter against savvy European veterans, Rice accepted lessons had to be taken on board.
“So frustrating,” he told club media following the defeat. “We worked really hard, prepared really well. Obviously it wasn’t meant to be in terms of the way we created the chances tonight. After the start of 2024 we had, there’s a lot to learn, a lot to take from tonight.
“I think that’s a real positive, obviously to concede late is a real kick in the teeth but positive is it’s half-time in two legs. We’ve got the home leg now, which we’re going to be fully up for with our fans, and have that goal to reach the quarter final.”
Very sad to hear that Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal dementia, the same condition Bruce Willis suffers from. Appeared on her show many times over the years and she’s a fabulous character & superb broadcaster. Wish her and her family all the best.
Palestinians are human beings who deserve to live in freedom and joy.
That is why hundreds of thousands of us have exercised our right to protest.
We will be here as long as it takes until there is an immediate ceasefire, an end to the occupation, and a just & lasting peace.
Keir Starmer and his allies, clutching a can of petrol in one hand and a box of matches in the other, tutting loudly at the flames. Starmer has no effin clue
