UK air traffic control chaos disrupts flights for hundreds of thousands of passengers

Posted on by

More than 1,000 flights cancelled with problems continuing on Wednesday and airlines calling for overhaul after third incident in just over three years

Flight delays and cancellations were expected to continue into Wednesday at UK airports after another air traffic control failure kept planes grounded for hours, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers.

At least 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday to and from UK airports had been cancelled, plane tracking site Flightradar24 said, “nearly all at London Heathrow”. More than 1,000 were cancelled by about 8pm on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

UK to force Apple and Google to block explicit images on children’s smartphones

Posted on by

Lisa Nandy says government will introduce legislation after talks deadline ends without breakthrough

Apple and Google will be forced to block explicit images on children’s smartphones by law in the UK after talks failed to produce a breakthrough, the government has said.

The legislation commitment puts ministers on a collision course with two of the biggest players in Silicon Valley, months after the government announced a social media ban for under-16s.

Continue reading...

PISA 2025 results: Reading and math scores plummet worldwide – DW.com

Posted on by
  1. PISA 2025 results: Reading and math scores plummet worldwide  DW.com
  2. Are teenagers growing dimmer?  The Economist
  3. U.S. Reading Scores Plummet on Global Exam  The New York Times
  4. U.S. students’ scores on international test reach lowest point in 2 decades  The Washington Post
  5. Families’ interest in their kids’ education is falling around the globe as scores drop, test shows  NBC News
Posted in Uncategorized

United Utilities fined £1m after discharging raw sewage into Lancashire coast

Posted on by

Sewage plume reached seven bathing waters and significantly affected water quality in June 2023

United Utilities has been fined nearly £1m after illegally discharging raw sewage into the Lancashire coastline and polluting seaside holiday locations including Blackpool.

The water company pleaded guilty to five environmental permit offences relating to a pollution incident along the Fylde coast in June 2023, and was ordered by Preston magistrates court on Tuesday to pay £964,225 in fines and costs.

Continue reading...

Egyptian TV presenter Sarah Khalifa sentenced to death in drug case – USA Today

Posted on by
  1. Egyptian TV presenter Sarah Khalifa sentenced to death in drug case  USA Today
  2. Sarah Khalifa: Egyptian TV presenter sentenced to death on drug charges  CNN
  3. TV presenter among 12 sentenced to death in Egypt drugs case  BBC
  4. Egyptian TV presenter Sarah Khalifa sentenced to death in drugs case  Al Jazeera
  5. Egyptian TV presenter among 12 sentenced to death for drug crime  The Guardian
Posted in Uncategorized

US issues sweeping sanctions against Iranian airlines, foreign businesses – thehill.com

Posted on by
  1. US issues sweeping sanctions against Iranian airlines, foreign businesses  thehill.com
  2. US targets Iran’s airline industry as part of pressure campaign  CNN
  3. US Treasury ratchets up pressure on Iran with sweeping new aviation sanctions  Reuters
  4. U.S. sanctions Iranian airlines in aim to tighten economic squeeze as war spreads, oil rises  CNBC
  5. US senator says Turkey ‘not our friend’ over Iran-linked financing  Iran International
Posted in Uncategorized

NATO member boots 10 Russian diplomats – Fox News

Posted on by
  1. NATO member boots 10 Russian diplomats  Fox News
  2. Hungary expels 10 Russian diplomats, Moscow promises harsh response  Al Jazeera
  3. Russia says it will give a ‘harsh and painful’ response after Hungary expels 10 diplomats - Europe live  The Guardian
  4. Hungary expels 10 Russian diplomats as relations worsen  BBC
  5. Hungary Expels 10 Russian Diplomats, Signaling a Shift  The New York Times
Posted in Uncategorized

Smithsonian Institution secretary to retire amid Trump attacks on museum independence

Posted on by

‘I have to be honest, it has been stressful,’ Lonnie Bunch III says

The Smithsonian Institution’s secretary, Lonnie Bunch III, will retire at the end of the year amid Donald Trump’s attacks on the museum’s content and independence.

Bunch, who was appointed in 2019 as the first African American to lead the museums, cited personal reasons for departing, while acknowledging the pressure that the president’s attacks on the Smithsonian’s depictions of US history had taken.

Continue reading...

Gulf nations race to bypass Hormuz and build defenses as Iran war drags on – Yahoo

Posted on by
  1. Gulf nations race to bypass Hormuz and build defenses as Iran war drags on  Yahoo
  2. Three ways the Iran war changed the global economy  CNN
  3. Gulf insecurity fuels US energy dominance  Al Jazeera
  4. Iran War Forces a Rewrite of Global Oil Trade Routes  Crude Oil Prices Today | OilPrice.com
  5. TODAY: Gulf oil exporters face different limits to their workarounds  enterpriseam.com
Posted in Uncategorized

US federal court says no constitutional right to clean water in Mississippi case

Posted on by

Appeals court dismisses lawsuit from Jackson residents claiming that tainted drinking water violated their rights

A US appellate court has decided that the federal constitution does not guarantee a right to clean water.

That legal opinion came in the form of a decision on Friday from the fifth circuit court of appeals to uphold a lower court’s dismissal of a 2022 lawsuit from several Jackson, Mississippi, residents claiming that tainted drinking water violated their constitutional rights.

Continue reading...