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The latest local and national UK and International news.
Tributes paid after body of 75-year-old woman found in sub-zero temperatures
Tributes have been paid after the body of a 75-year-old woman was found near her home in sub-zero conditions during a blizzard. The pensioner, believed to have been confused shortly before her death, was discovered lying partially under a car at 6am on Thursday (Mar 1) as temperatures plunged during Storm Emma. Police said there is nothing to suggest her death is suspicious and enquiries are continuing. Floral tributes on the street in Farsley, West Yorkshire where the body of...
Women are on week two of a hunger strike over their indefinite detention
Dozens of women have been on hunger strike since Monday at the notorious Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre. Some have been on hunger strike since last week. Last week we reported that over 100 women detained by the Home Office with no time limit on administrative grounds has gone on hunger strike over “inhumane” conditions at the facility on Wednesday. The hunger strikers were urging the Home Office to end “offensive” practices which they said leave people “breaking down psychologically.”...
Petition calling for an end to cash payments for non-referrals gets 140k signatures
A petition calling for an end to the practice of rewarding GPs with cash incentives to cut the number of patients they refer to hospital has reached 140,000 signatures. With the NHS cash-strapped and struggling to provide beds this winter, bosses are looking for any opportunity to save money. That means that in some cases GPs have been offered cash rewards to cut the number of patients they refer to hospital - including people who might have cancer. Campaigners say this practice...
Union calls for urgent meeting with Government to address “Beast from East” gas supply crisis
We will continue to need gas over the short to medium term - the question is where that gas comes from and fundamentally where we can store it in sufficient quantity to guarantee supply and stable prices says GMB GMB, the gas and energy workers union, has today written to the Minister for Energy and Clean Growth Claire Perry calling for urgent meeting with trade unions and industry association to address the ‘Beast from the East’ gas crisis. As Britain...
Getaway driver with no legs jailed for leading police on 90mph car chases
He used hand operated rods attached to the accelerator and brake pedals to steer the vehicles - but crashed them on both occasions
Man jailed for stealing £26K of chairs that police were “too busy” to investigate
Business owner Jack Whiteley, 69, captured perfect CCTV of thieves making off with garden furniture - even noting down the licence plate of the van they were taken in
Watch – Unknown ‘supercolony’ of 1.5m penguins discovered in Antarctica
A previously unknown ”supercolony” of Adélie penguins has been discovered in the Antarctic, living on the Danger Islands, located off the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The islands are both incredibly remote and surrounded by thick sea ice.In total there were 751,527 pairs of penguins living on the islands – more than the rest of the Antarctic Peninsula combined. “Until recently, the Danger Islands weren’t known to be an important penguin habitat,” said Professor Heather Lynch, an ecologist at Stony Brook University who co-led...
Alright for some! MPs to get 1.8% pay rise – to £77,379…almost double what public sector staff received
It might be freezing outside but the most bitter you are likely to feel, is knowing your MP has just got a pay rise. From 2018/19 they will take home a 1.8 pay rise, taking their pay to a chunky £77,379 a year, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority said. Last year MPs only got a 1.4% pay rise, so they will be lining their pockets even more in the next round of pay hikes. Our MPs salaries will have risen...