At-home ECGs will detect early heart issues and save thousands, say doctors

Colour-coded output from smartwatch device would be easy for public to read

They remain some of the most complex diagnostic procedures carried out by doctors. To take an electrocardiogram, or ECG, they first have to attach 10 or more electrodes to a patient’s chest, arms and legs to measure the heart’s electrical activity. Then, once these signals have been recorded, a cardiologist has to interpret them to determine if a person has a particular heart ailment.

It is a life-saving technology – but a complicated, expensive one. However, UK scientists now believe they could soon overcome these limitations by developing devices which will allow patients to take their own detailed ECGs at home and be provided with easily interpreted diagnoses about the state of their hearts.

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Trump ‘beauty parade’ may favour populist right leaders over Starmer

Diplomats have advised the UK prime minister to have a face-saving response just in case he comes low down on the list at the inauguration

Donald Trump may invite ­populist rightwing leaders from Europe such as Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán to the White House before Keir Starmer, senior UK ­diplomats believe.

Downing Street and the Foreign Office are eagerly pressing for the prime minister to be at the head of the traditional “beauty parade” of overseas leaders who are called to see the new president in the days after the inauguration on 20 January. Representations are being made via the UK embassy in Washington.

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Lorry hits and kills policewoman working at North Yorkshire crash scene

Constable Rosie Prior and a motorist were fatally struck by HGV that also hit a teenage boy, who was left with serious injuries, say police

A North Yorkshire policewoman has died after she was struck by a lorry while helping at the scene of another crash on the side of a highway.

Constable Rosie Prior was standing on the verge of the A19 at Bagby, near the village of Thirsk, on Saturday morning when she and two others were struck by an approaching heavy goods vehicle (HGV) just before 9am, authorities said.

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Germany says Russian ‘shadow’ oil tanker stuck in Baltic Sea – BBC.com

  1. Germany says Russian 'shadow' oil tanker stuck in Baltic Sea  BBC.com
  2. Stricken Oil Tanker Towed to Safety Off German Island of Ruegen  Bloomberg
  3. Russian 'Shadow Fleet' Tanker With 99,000 Tons of Oil Adrift in NATO Seas  Newsweek
  4. Germany battles to secure ‘Russian shadow fleet’ oil tanker adrift off northern coast  The Guardian
  5. Russian 'shadow fleet' oil tanker towed to German port  DW (English)
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Tories back Badenoch’s ‘risky’ call for grooming gangs inquiry

Keir Starmer accuses opposition leader of spending ‘a lot of time on social media over Christmas’

When Kemi Badenoch used prime minister’s questions this week to echo Elon Musk’s demands for a new inquiry into sexual grooming gangs, the MPs behind her were trying to interpret the intentions of their fledgling leader. Was it a long-held view? A short-term move to wrong-foot Labour or appeal to Reform voters? A sign she was adopting a more radical politics?

There was one point, however, that seemed to unite those with differing theories about their leader’s motives. Her decision to warn Keir Starmer that refusing a fresh inquiry could prompt speculation about a “cover-up” was the kind of political gamble they had expected her to be willing to take.

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UK government to crack down on MPs earning extra cash from media firms

Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage are among those who have earned large sums from broadcasters, but a tightening of rules on MPs’ outside interests is being considered

MPs would no longer be able to rake in huge sums that can see them more than double their ­parliamentary ­salaries by signing contracts with media outlets, under plans being ­considered by ministers.

The Observer has been told that ­talks on further ­tightening rules on MPs’ ­outside interests, ­including media contracts, will be started by leader of the House of Commons, Lucy Powell, at a hearing of the all-party standards committee on Tuesday.

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Joe Biden delays order to end Nippon Steel bid for US Steel

Suspension of executive order until 18 June gives courts time to review steelmakers’ legal challenge

The Biden administration has delayed until June an order for Nippon Steel to abandon its $14.9bn bid for US Steel, potentially giving the companies some time to revive the politically contentious deal.

Joe Biden blocked the acquisition on national security grounds on 3 January and the treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said this week the proposed deal had received a “thorough analysis” by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

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New agony for Israel’s hostage families as Gaza ceasefire talks drag on – The Washington Post

  1. New agony for Israel’s hostage families as Gaza ceasefire talks drag on  The Washington Post
  2. Israeli Hostage Declared Killed in Gaza as Fears for Captives Grow  The New York Times
  3. Israeli military confirms hostage killed alongside father in Gaza  Reuters
  4. Weekly rallies to demand hostage deal after IDF recovers bodies of two captives  The Times of Israel
  5. Body of an Israeli hostage is found in Gaza, possibly alongside his son’s remains, army says  The Associated Press
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Poland backs Donald Trump on raising Nato spending to 5% of GDP – Financial Times

  1. Poland backs Donald Trump on raising Nato spending to 5% of GDP  Financial Times
  2. UK foreign policy chief says Trump is right to urge higher military spending from NATO  The Associated Press
  3. Poland backs Trump push for NATO to boost defense spending to 5 percent of GDP  POLITICO Europe
  4. Europe is divided over Trump's call for NATO members to boost defense spending to 5% of GDP  Business Insider
  5. Opinion | Trump’s New NATO Spending Target  The Wall Street Journal
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Germany: Thousands protest AfD party conference in Saxony – DW (English)

  1. Germany: Thousands protest AfD party conference in Saxony  DW (English)
  2. AfD launches manifesto as campaign season for German election begins  The Guardian
  3. Alice Weidel: the former Goldman analyst leading Germany’s far-right  Financial Times
  4. Far-right party’s convention draws protests as Germany’s election campaign warms up  The Associated Press
  5. Protesters chanting ‘no to Nazis’ block access to AfD party congress  POLITICO Europe
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North Korean troops in Ukraine gain battlefield experience, cementing alliance with Russia – The Associated Press

  1. North Korean troops in Ukraine gain battlefield experience, cementing alliance with Russia  The Associated Press
  2. North Korea learning from fighting with Russia against Ukraine, US warns  The Guardian
  3. Blinken warns Russia is close to sharing advanced satellite technology with North Korea  CNN
  4. Experts: Russian technology could enhance North Korea's ICBM capabilities  VOA Asia
  5. North Korea's growth into Putin's war of attrition poses new problem 'for entire world'  MSN
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