Browsing: UK featured

It’s a wet and windy morning here in the capital, but lots is happening in the news – grab yourself a coffee and let’s dive into the headlines.


The ongoing Birmingham bin strike is a popular story in the country this morning as unions overwhelmingly rejected a deal to end the strike. Several newspapers suggest the strike could spread outside the city – and there are reports on the growing concerns over a potential health crisis as residents report streets being overrun by large rats and trash.


There is backlash from China amid the British Steel crisis – after the government dramatically took over control of the Scunthorpe plant over the weekend – as Beijing warns the UK to avoid politicising the situation. There are concerns from the top that the Chinese owners are intentionally trying to sabotage the UK steel industry to force the country to become more reliant on cheap Chinese steel.


On the international front, there are reports on the all-female Blue Origin team that took a trip to space. Katy Perry and Gayle King were amongst the crew.


The business publications continue their heavy coverage of the US tariffs saga amid an investigation into the semiconductor and pharmaceutical trade – which could lead to their tariff exemptions ending. In recent news, JD Vance has said there is a good chance the UK will secure a trade deal with the US.


In sports news, Newcastle manager Eddie Howe is in hospital with pneumonia, he is set to miss more matches. Several publications look ahead to tonight’s Champions League match involving the English club Aston Villa. The Birmingham club need to overturn a 2 goal deficit.

Manchester United are reportedly pursuing Bayer Leverkusen forward Patrik Schick, with a potential offer of €30 million being considered for the 29-year-old striker.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe is currently recovering in hospital after being diagnosed with pneumonia, missing the team’s recent match against Manchester United.

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Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, attacked prison guards with hot cooking oil and homemade weapons, leading to an immediate suspension of kitchen access in separation centres.

The UK government used emergency powers over the weekend to take control of British Steel’s Scunthorpe site after it looked set to close. The Chinese owners planned to shut down the Scunthorpe site, risking thousands of jobs. The government is exploring various options, including potential nationalisation, to ensure the continued operation of the steelworks. There have also been suspicions that the Chinese owners were intentionally trying to sabotage the company in a bid to force the UK to rely on cheap Chinese steel.

An investigation has been launched into how an inmate at HMP Frankland was able to attack three prison officers with boiling oil and a knife despite being in a high-security prison. The officers were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after being attacked by Hashem Adedi, one of the men responsible for the Manchester Arena bombing. He is serving a minimum 55-year sentence for helping his brother carry out the 2017 attack. Unions are calling for changes to the system to ensure their officers are safe – and to avoid copycats.

The army have been called in to help Birmingham City Council with the bin strikes that are plaguing the city and leading to reports of rats the size of cats and fears of a potential health crisis.

The government took the drastic step of taking control of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant over the weekend after enacting emergency legislation that was rushed through Parliament in a single day. 

The business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told MPs that the likely next step would be to nationalise the Scunthorpe plant. 

The government say they were forced to seek emergency powers to stop the Chinese owners, Jingype, from shutting down the two blast furnaces, which would have ended primary steel production in the UK. 

Since the shocking intervention from the British government, the UK headlines are assessing what could happen next with calls for the plant to be nationalised, rivals looking to buy the plant and fears the Chinese owners are trying to sabotage the site to force Britain to rely on cheap Chinese imports.

The Manchester bomber plotter has viciously attacked three prison officers. Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, Salman Abedi, attacked the prison officers with hot cooking oil and homemade weapons at HMP Frankland, leaving them with life-threatening injuries. 

The officers were hospitalised, with one female officer since discharged.

Abedi is already serving a 55-year sentence for his involvement in the 2017 bombing. He had previously assaulted a prison officer at Belmarsh prison. 

The attack has led to calls from unions representing prison officers for change to protect prison workers further – calls including banning prisoners from working in kitchens amid fears of copycat attacks.

The UK government has called in the army to help assist the Birmingham City Council in dealing with the sanitation crisis due to the ongoing Birmingham bin strikes. The military support will consist of three office-based personnel providing logistical planning with soldiers not being deployed for rubbish collection. 

The months-long strike by the city’s bin workers originated from disputes over pay and job security.