Wajid Khan tells House of Lords remediation work is yet to start on half of properties with unsafe cladding
Far too many high and medium-rise buildings are still unsafe after the Grenfell disaster, with dangerous cladding remaining on at least 2,400 blocks, a housing minister has warned.
Wajid Khan, a Labour peer and housing minister, said on Friday that remediation work had not started at approximately 50% of properties being monitored for their unsafe cladding.
Continue reading...US Department of Transportation has greenlit congestion fee for raising funds for mass transit and cutting traffic
The US Department of Transportation has approved New York’s plan to impose a $9 congestion charge for driving in Manhattan starting on 5 January, a move aimed at raising billions for funding better mass transit and cutting traffic jams.
The congestion charge, the first of its kind in the US, was revived last week by the governor, Kathy Hochul, after she had put it on indefinite hold in June.
Continue reading...Plans are understood to show where cameras and sensors are, triggering fears of weapon smuggling and escapes
Detailed prison blueprints have been leaked, triggering a security alert at jails in England and Wales, it has emerged.
The leak, first reported by the Times, involves prison layouts being shared on the dark web in the last fortnight, prompting an investigation by the National Crime Agency.
Continue reading...Karl Rove says in Wall Street Journal that Trump has ‘created chaos and controversy’ before he’s even in office
As Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s first nominee for attorney general, withdrew after eight days amid allegations of sexual misconduct and more, and as Trump’s new pick, Pam Bondi, faced scrutiny of her own, a leading Republican strategist rebuked the president-elect for bringing “chaos” back to Washington.
“Inadequate vetting, impatience, disregard for qualifications and a thirst for revenge have created chaos and controversy for Mr Trump before he’s even in office,” said Karl Rove, once known as George W Bush’s “Brain”, in the Wall Street Journal.
Continue reading...Several weather warnings in place for weekend, with snow, wind, rain and ice predicted
Storm Bert is expected to bring wind, rain, ice and snow to much of the UK over the weekend in what forecasters have called a “multi-hazard event”.
The Met Office has issued several weather warnings – mostly yellow, but also including the more severe amber in Scotland – for Saturday and Sunday.
Continue reading...Former German chancellor says politics should govern the social balance between powerful and ordinary citizens
Angela Merkel, who in her new memoir raises fears for the western democratic order with Donald Trump as US president, has also expressed deep concerns about the outsized role to be played in Trump’s administration by Elon Musk.
The former German chancellor, who during Trump’s first term was given by some observers the designation of “leader of the free world” usually reserved for US presidents, said 16 years in power had taught her that business and political interests must be kept in fine balance.
Continue reading...Security cordon lifted and train services resume as travel plans are disrupted for thousands of people
Gatwick’s south terminal has reopened for passengers after a security alert caused disruption for thousands of people.
Sussex police said they had released two people after concluding their investigation into reports of a suspect package at the airport. A bomb disposal team made the package safe, the force added in a statement on X.
Continue reading...In preparation for plan, Ontario has indemnified itself from liability if cyclists are killed on streets that once had bike lanes
Removing bike lanes from busy city streets will increase traffic congestion, according to a Canadian government document leaked amid a furious row over urban infrastructure.
The findings, which come as the province of Ontario goes to war over cycling infrastructure in Toronto, undercut claims that the dedicated routes contribute to urban gridlock.
Continue reading...Kremlin dispatched weapons as payment for 10,000 troops deployed to support war in Ukraine, says South Korean official
Russia has sent air defence missiles and other military technology to North Korea in return for the deployment of troops from the North to support the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, intelligence officials in South Korea have said.
The shipments were the latest expression of a deepening alliance that allies and enemies fear could fuel the escalation of the war in Ukraine, geopolitical tensions in Asia, and potentially even global nuclear arms proliferation.
Continue reading...Former PM, whose daughter died when she was 11 days old, says debate is moving too fast and calls for commission on palliative care
• Gordon Brown: We need better end-of-life care, not assisted dying
The former prime minister Gordon Brown has declared his opposition to the legalisation of assisted dying, saying the death of his newborn daughter in January 2002 convinced him of the “value and imperative of good end-of-life care”.
In a rare and poignant glimpse into the tragedy, he says the time he and his wife, Sarah, spent at their baby Jennifer’s bedside “as her life ebbed away” were “among the most precious days of [our] lives”.
Continue reading...Simone White was one of six people to die in suspected methanol poisoning incident in Vang Vieng
Tributes have been paid to the “beautiful, kind and loving” British tourist Simone White, one of six people to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos.
The six died after allegedly being served drinks laced with methanol in Vang Vieng, a town popular with backpackers. These include the Australian teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, an American man and two Danish women aged 19 and 20.
Continue reading...Chancellor understood to be determined to keep policy despite Treasury analysing ways to soften impact
Rachel Reeves is holding firm against a U-turn on inheritance tax for farmers, despite the Treasury analysing ways of softening the impact.
The chancellor is understood to be determined not to drop the policy even though some Labour MPs – and even ministers – are worrying about the political fallout that has led to farmers protesting in Westminster this week.
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