Man in his 40s pronounced dead at scene in Old Swan area and woman discovered nearby with knife injuries
A murder investigation is under way in Liverpool after a man was found stabbed to death in the street and a woman was found with knife injuries nearby.
Merseyside police said they were called to reports of a man with “significant injuries” in the Old Swan area at 8.55pm on Monday. Officers administered CPR but the man, in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Continue reading...Unemployment rate falls below pre-Covid level but rising prices and energy bills hitswages
Unemployment in the UK has fallen below pre-Covid levels, but high inflation amid Britain’s cost of living crisis means average wages fell at the fastest rate since 2014.
The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in the three months to January, dropping below the 4% rate in February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in the UK.
Continue reading...About 10,000 people an hour signing up to offer homes to war-hit families and individuals, says minister
Almost 89,000 people have offered homes to Ukrainian refugees in the first hours of a government scheme that allows families and individuals to bring them to the UK.
The website for registering interest in the scheme crashed for a short while because of the numbers offering homes. By 9am on Tuesday, 88,712 had joined the scheme. The Foreign Office minister, James Cleverly, said “10,000 people every hour” were signing up.
Continue reading...Analysis: Higher prices, taxes and energy costs will bring gloom despite low level of unemployment
Demand for workers is strong as the economy emerges from two years of pandemic-induced disruption. The supply of workers has been reduced by an increase in long-term sickness affecting mainly the over 50 age group.
As a result, there is enough upward pressure on pay to persuade the Bank of England to continue raising interest rates, but the big squeeze on living standards has begun.
Continue reading...Gambling Commission names rival Allwyn as its preferred applicant to take over licence
Camelot is to lose its licence to run the UK national lottery after 28 years as the Gambling Commission named rival Allwyn as its preferred applicant to take over.
Allwyn, which is owned by the Czech group Sazka, Europe’s largest lottery operator, is expected to take over from Camelot in 2024.
Continue reading...Remaining rules including mandatory passenger locator forms and tests for unvaccinated arrivals will end on Friday
All remaining Covid travel restrictions are to be dropped across the UK from later this week, despite a concerning rise in cases and hospitalisations.
Ministers approved the scrapping of passenger locator forms and the requirement for all unvaccinated arrivals to get tested, with the changes to come into force from 4am on Friday.
Continue reading...Group earlier said they had made peace with arrest after claiming property for Ukrainian refugees
The four protesters who occupied the home of a Russian oligarch in London’s Belgravia have ended their demonstration and have been arrested by police.
The squatters, who said they were opposed to Vladimir Putin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and wanted to open the mansion up for Ukrainian refugees, got into the property around 1am on Monday morning.
Continue reading...Call comes as data shows 2- to 11-year-olds currently have the highest rate of infection
Scientists are calling for the immediate rollout of Covid vaccines to primary-aged children, as new data suggests that even a single dose of the Pfizer jab helps to prevent older children against infection, and shortens the duration and severity of symptoms if they do get infected.
According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, 2- to 11-year-olds have the highest rate of infections of any UK age group, with 4.2% testing positive during the week ending 5 March. Secondary-aged children (up to Year 11) have the lowest rate of infections, with 2.4% testing positive.
Continue reading...Criticism follows announcement that UK householders will have to name refugees they wish to sponsor
Michael Gove’s plan to permit UK householders to shelter Ukrainians seeking to escape the Russian war machine has been compared to a “DIY asylum scheme” after it was announced that people would have to name the refugees they wish to sponsor.
The communities secretary was criticised after setting out details of the homes for Ukraine scheme in the Commons on Monday, after complaints about the government’s slow response to the worst humanitarian disaster in Europe for decades.
Continue reading...Paul Fontaine and Frankie Sinclair convicted of plotting revenge shooting using encrypted messaging system
Two men who planned a revenge shooting have been convicted at the Old Bailey in the first murder plot case involving the use of the encrypted messaging system EncroChat.
Paul Fontaine, 36, from Hackney in London, and Frankie Sinclair, 34, from Cardiff, were found guilty of plotting a murder using the system, which was described in court by prosecuting counsel Kevin Dent QC as “an Amazon for organised criminals” in that it allowed them to purchase guns, drugs and counterfeit money clandestinely.
Continue reading...Is it hoped discovery of medieval trading town Ravenser Odd can teach people about perils of climate crisis
Hopes are high that a fabled medieval town known as “Yorkshire’s Atlantis” is about to be located and will begin giving up secrets held for more than 650 years.
Ravenser Odd was a prosperous port town built on sandbanks at the mouth of the Humber estuary before it was abandoned and later destroyed and submerged by a calamitous storm in 1362.
Continue reading...Exposure to artificial light at night worsens glucose and cardiovascular regulation, research suggests
Sleeping with the light on might scare away monsters under the bed, but it could be linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, research suggests.
Light is an important signal by which the body’s internal clock, which governs a host of biological processes from temperature to hormone release, is synchronised to the external cycle of day and night.
Continue reading...WikiLeaks founder’s application ‘didn’t raise an arguable point of law’, UK supreme court says
Julian Assange has moved a step closer to a US trial on espionage charges after the UK’s highest court refused to hear his appeal against extradition.
The WikiLeaks founder was attempting to appeal against a judgment by the high court in December that ruled he could be extradited after assurances from the US authorities with regard to his prison conditions there.
Continue reading...JCPC overturns decision by lower court that ban was unconstitutional, in setback for LGBTQ rights
British judges have ruled that Bermuda’s ban on same-sex marriage is permitted under its constitution, in a setback for gay rights in the British overseas territory.
The UK’s judicial committee of the privy council (JCPC) – the ultimate court of appeal for Bermuda and dozens of other British overseas territories, dependencies and Commonwealth states – on Monday overturned a decision by Bermuda’s highest court, which ruled the ban to be unconstitutional.
Continue reading...MPs voice deep concerns over trip after mass execution by regime and its continuing role in Yemen war
Boris Johnson is facing scrutiny over a planned trip to Saudi Arabia to push for an increase in oil output amid an outcry over the regime’s biggest ever mass execution and growing fears the prime minister may try to limit media scrutiny of the visit.
Downing Street would not confirm Johnson’s likely trip to Riyadh, but sources have said he wants to appeal to the Gulf state to increase its oil output to replace supplies from Russia.
Continue reading...‘We will not be silenced,’ says CEO after government accuses Hong Kong Watch of endangering China’s national security
A UK-based rights group has pledged not to remain silent after Hong Kong’s government demanded it shut its website and accused it of endangering China’s national security.
While China heavily restricts the internet on the mainland, Hong Kong does not generally censor the web, allowing residents to access sites and content that might be critical of Beijing.
Continue reading...Two-factor authentication is designed to reduce the £376m lost to fraud in 2020
Online shoppers in the UK face more identification checks when paying for purchases on the internet from Monday, as new rules to clamp down on fraud come into force.
The new Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements will change the way people confirm their identity when using their debit or credit cards to make online purchases, and are expected to lead to more card payments being declined. It is the biggest change to card payments since chip and pin was rolled out 16 years ago, and is designed to reduce the £376m lost to online fraud in 2020.
Continue reading...Units will help provide power for key buildings such as hospitals, shelters and water treatment plants
Boris Johnson has announced that the government will donate more than 500 mobile generators to Ukraine to help provide power for key buildings such as hospitals, shelters and water treatment plants.
The UK government has set up a new Ukraine electricity network support taskforce, including many of the leading power suppliers. They will provide the generators from their stocks, with many expected to be delivered via neighbouring countries. In total, they should provide enough power for 20,000 homes or equivalent buildings.
Continue reading...Hamptons expects sums to become 54% of post-tax income for average rented household in Great Britain
Tenants already struggling with the cost of living crisis typically face having to find an extra £1,000 this year to cover higher rent and essential bills, research shows.
The estate agent Hamptons said tenants’ finances faced a record squeeze as higher rents and energy bill increases combined to pile more pressure on households in Great Britain.
Continue reading...Water firms commit to improving sewage discharge practices after government pressure
Severn Trent and Anglian Water say they will accelerate efforts to protect rivers after the government and regulators called on the sector to do more.
Last month, the environment minister Rebecca Pow called on water companies to significantly improve their practices in England and Wales to support the local environment.
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