Channel migrant dinghy tragedy ‘entirely predictable’, inquiry hears

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The Cranston inquiry has begun hearing evidence into the biggest ever loss of life in a Channel migrant crossing

An inquiry into the biggest ever loss of life in a migrant dinghy in the Channel has heard that it was ‘entirely predictable’ that a catastrophic event involving mass casualties would occur.

On Monday the Cranston inquiry began hearing evidence into the drownings of at least 27 people on 24 November 2021 in the narrow stretch of water separating the UK from France.

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James Harrison, whose blood donations saved over 2 million babies, has died – NPR

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  1. James Harrison, whose blood donations saved over 2 million babies, has died  NPR
  2. Video Man who saved 2.4 million babies by donating blood dies at 88  ABC News
  3. James Harrison, whose rare blood protected babies, dies at 88  The Washington Post
  4. Prolific blood donor who saved 2.4 million babies dies at 88  NBC News
  5. ‘Man with a golden arm’: Blood donor whose plasma helped save millions of babies dies  The Independent
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UN human rights chief ‘deeply worried by fundamental shift’ in US

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Volker Türk alarmed at growing power of ‘unelected tech oligarchs’ and warns gender equality is being rolled back

The UN human rights chief has warned of a “fundamental shift” in the US and sounded the alarm over the growing power of “unelected tech oligarchs”, in a stinging rebuke of Washington weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency.

Volker Türk said there had been bipartisan support for human rights in the US for decades but said he was “now deeply worried by the fundamental shift in direction that is taking place domestically and internationally”.

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Tories compare Nigel Farage to Jeremy Corbyn over Ukraine war

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Reform leader accused of ‘equivocating over Russia’s illegal war’ after criticising Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The Conservatives have compared Nigel Farage to Jeremy Corbyn after the Reform UK leader said Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been “rude” to Donald Trump, as well as criticising the Ukrainian president for not wearing a suit to the Oval Office.

The Liberal Democrats accused Farage of parroting White House talking points after Farage denied that Elon Musk and Steve Bannon had given Nazi salutes, saying their gestures were “out to the side and not in front”.

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Two dead after car driven into crowds in German city of Mannheim

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Woman, 83, and man, 54, killed and several injured after attack by SUV driver during carnival celebrations

A car has rammed into crowds in the centre of the German city of Mannheim, killing two people and injuring several others, in what police described as a deliberate attack.

Police said they had arrested a man, the driver of a black Ford Fiesta, who was reportedly being treated for his injuries in hospital under tight police protection. Thomas Strobl, the interior minister of Baden-Württemberg state, said the suspect was a 40-year-old German man from the south-western state of Rhineland-Palatinate who was believed to have acted alone.

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Paris trials dedicated car-sharing lane on its notoriously congested ring road

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Busiest urban motorway in Europe restricted mainly to vehicles carrying at least two people during rush-hour

Authorities in Paris have created a dedicated car-sharing lane during rush-hour on its notorious ring road as part of efforts to reduce congestion and pollution on one of Europe’s busiest motorways.

Paris city hall began the trial scheme on Monday, restricting the outside lane of the périphérique to passenger vehicles carrying at least two people from 7am to 10.30am and 4pm to 8pm. The lane will also be available to public transport, taxis, the emergency services and vehicles used by disabled people.

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France mass rape case: New charges expected as former doctor Joel Le Scouarnec admits assaulting granddaughter – CBS News

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  1. France mass rape case: New charges expected as former doctor Joel Le Scouarnec admits assaulting granddaughter  CBS News
  2. Ex-surgeon tells French court he used status to sexually abuse children  The Guardian
  3. Retired French surgeon accused of abusing hundreds of children ‘ready to admit’ to some rapes  FRANCE 24 English
  4. France's 'reckoning' over largest-ever child sex abuse trial  The Week
  5. The Le Scouarnecs, a family haunted by sexual violence: 'I was taught to keep quiet'  Le Monde
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Democrats invite fired US federal workers to attend Trump’s address to Congress

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Invitations are attempt to embarrass Trump over effort spearheaded by Elon Musk and his so-called ‘department of government efficiency’

Workers fired in Donald Trump’s mass purge of the federal government will attend his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday at the invitation of Democrats seeking to display the human costs of the president’s radical policies.

Senior Democrats, including the party’s leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, have invited laid-off military veterans as their guests in an attempt to embarrass Trump over the unbridled assault on the federal bureaucracy spearheaded by Elon Musk and his so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) team.

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Oscar winner’s shoutout for London music venue Cafe Oto stuns owner

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The Brutalist composer Daniel Blumberg mentioned the experimental music space in his acceptance speech

The co-owner of a cafe in east London that doubles up as a venue for creative new music in the evenings said he was stunned that an Oscar winner mentioned it during his acceptance speech.

Hamish Dunbar, of Cafe Oto in Dalston, woke up on Monday to find the 150-capacity venue had received the shoutout at the Oscars from Daniel Blumberg, the composer of The Brutalist score.

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Schumer says cyber operations pause against Russia gives Putin ‘free pass’

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Top Democrat calls Trump’s move to retreat from fight against Russian cyber threats ‘a critical strategic mistake’

A senior US Democrat has hit out at Donald Trump’s attempt to reset relations with Russia following revelations that the president’s administration is retreating from the fight against Russian cyber threats, calling the reported move “a critical strategic mistake”.

In a statement on Sunday making reference to the Russian leader, New York’s Chuck Schumer – the US Senate’s Democratic minority leader – said Trump was “so desperate to earn the affection of a thug like Vladimir Putin he appears to be giving him a free pass as Russia continues to launch cyber operations and ransomware attacks against critical American infrastructure, threatening our economic and national security”.

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Will The U.S. Leave NATO? Officials Push Back Against Rising Doubts – Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

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  1. Will The U.S. Leave NATO? Officials Push Back Against Rising Doubts  Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
  2. Trump’s Embrace of Russia Rocks NATO Alliance  The Wall Street Journal
  3. Europe’s Moment of Truth: The Transatlantic Alliance Is Under Grave Threat—but Not Yet Doomed  Foreign Affairs Magazine
  4. 'NATO Is Dead,' Says Chatham House's Timothy Ash (Full Interview)  Bloomberg
  5. Nato: What if the world's top military alliance falls apart?  The Economic Times
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‘Ticking timebomb’: how Send spending could bankrupt English councils

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Guardian analysis lays bare a neglected system that is ruinously expensive, and often fails children and parents

The alarming details of the special educational needs financial crisis in English local authorities are buried deep in internal council papers but the reality of the situation is crystal-clear to those close to it. “It’s a ticking timebomb,” one town hall boss told the Guardian. “It’s what keeps me awake at night.”

Budget reports, schools forum minutes and financial planning documents help tell a story of a system woefully unprepared for the explosion in numbers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in recent years, chronically underfunded to meet the growing demand, and now struggling to keep afloat.

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