Woman who has lived in UK for 26 years refused indefinite leave to remain under Home Office’s new settlement rules
A blind Nigerian pensioner who has lived in the UK for 26 years has been told by the Home Office she can safely “go home” to India.
Comfort*, 67, arrived in the UK in 2000, and shortly after suddenly went blind due to acute glaucoma.
Continue reading...Prospect of partial return to Budapest by Central European University suggests confidence in Hungary’s future
A university that Viktor Orbán tried to chase out of Hungary is open to expanding its presence in Budapest, in a mark of confidence in the country’s democratic future.
Carsten Q Schneider, the interim president and rector of Central European University (CEU), said it was interested in increasing its programmes in Budapest, as long as this did not damage the student experience.
Continue reading...Sydney and Melbourne airports say flights were affected by now-lifted ban on departures in US
Some US-bound flights from Sydney airport were grounded or delayed on Saturday after American authorities halted departures and delayed landings at all US airports.
Flights from Melbourne airport were also affected, with travel for passengers expected to depart for Los Angeles shortly after 10am being delayed by almost three hours.
Continue reading...Travelers and crew feeling ‘pissed’ or ‘lucky’ depending on level of upset amid nationwide ground stop
The US Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to ground all flights on Friday threw airports and travel plans into chaos across the country, as passengers on planes and in airport terminals were suddenly thrust into limbo.
At New York’s John F Kennedy airport, passengers found their travel plans abruptly cancelled – some even after they’d boarded.
Continue reading...Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary, said the airspace was now open and the problem had been identified
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted a nationwide ground stop that was declared Friday afternoon, delaying or canceling more than 11,000 US flights, according to aviation tracker FlightAware, and throwing airports into sudden chaos.
The FAA confirmed the airspace was open in an advisory on its website. “So at 8.15 tonight, Eastern Time, we’ve opened up the airspace,” Sean Duffy, the US transportation secretary, said. “But it’s going to take us some time to unwind what’s happened this afternoon.”
Continue reading...Statement is rare instance of a prominent Jewish political leader taking a strong stand in defence of Arab Israelis
Israeli prime ministerial hopeful Gadi Eisenkot accused caretaker premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of fuelling a “racist” campaign against the country’s Arab minority, after he sought to delegitimise the community’s lawmakers by linking them to Hamas.
Eisenkot’s statement was a rare instance of a prominent Jewish political leader taking a strong stand in defence of Arab Israelis, who make up more than 20% of the population.
Continue reading...No personnel, aircraft or infrastructure at Suffolk site affected, says US military
The US Air Force has said it responded to “suspected unauthorised drone activity” on Friday night at an RAF airbase in the east of England.
No personnel, aircraft or infrastructure were affected, the air force said.
Continue reading...Anti-corruption agency carried out searches as part of investigation into Orbán-era minister accused of taking bribes
Hungary’s anti-corruption agency said on Friday it had seized cash worth $19.5m (£14.8m) buried in forests and hidden elsewhere while investigating an ex-minister of nationalist former leader Viktor Orbán’s cabinet.
Miklós Seszták, Hungary’s minister of national development between 2014 and 2018, is accused of taking bribes in a scheme involving the state transport company, purchasing secondhand buses at inflated prices.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Report says restricting cars and freeing up pavement space could be a cheap way to bring shoppers back
The long decline of the high street is a problem that has gripped British governments for years. But what if there was a solution no one had considered before – doing it all on the cheap?
Spending less money is, admittedly, just one element of a report led by the urban thinktank Create Streets. But it does argue that rather than multimillion-pound revamps, a better answer could be smaller changes aimed at making town and city centres more appealing.
Continue reading...Move deals blow to government’s plans to release thousands of prisoners early to tackle prison overcrowding
The government’s plans to release thousands of prisoners early were dealt a blow on Friday after probation officers across England and Wales voted to strike over pay and excessive workloads.
Members of the union, Napo, backed overtime restrictions and other forms of action short of a strike, which is likely to start on 23 November. Plans are being made for strike action to follow at a later stage.
Continue reading...Barrister say law does not adequately recognise power imbalance between young people and much older adults
Allegations against Russell Brand and, separately, David Walliams, which he denies, have led to calls for greater legal protection for 16- and 17-year-olds from sexual exploitation by older adults.
A staggered consent law is one route favoured by campaigners, supported by some Labour MPs. Claire Waxman, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, has called for “serious conversations” on the potential for legislative change.
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