Month: August 2024

Military hero Jaco van Gass won the battle of the Britons to retain his Paralympic crown before compatriot Lizzi Jordan claimed gold on her Games debut. Afghanistan veteran Van Gass smashed his own world record en route to successfully defending the men’s C3 3000m individual pursuit title in a final showdown with Scottish silver medallist Fin Graham. Visually-impaired world champion Jordan, who lost her eyesight after contracting a rare strain […]

Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists who have set up a camp in Windsor have no plans to storm the town’s royal residence, a spokesperson has said. Tents, stages and speakers were set up in Windsor Home Park on Friday morning ahead of an “action-packed” weekend of activities. One protester said she thought the King would “probably be here” and “up for doing some camping” if he was not the head of […]

A 13-year-old boy has been stabbed to death at a house, sparking a murder investigation. West Midlands Police officers were called to an address in Lovett Avenue, Oldbury, at about 4pm on Thursday. The boy died despite being treated by paramedics. Detective Superintendent Shaun Edwards, from the force’s homicide team, said: “It’s absolutely tragic a young life has been lost. “We have specialist officers who will be supporting the family […]

A man who was caught upskirting a woman by an off-duty police officer at the British Museum has been jailed for four months, the Metropolitan Police said. Colombian national Jake Verano Gomez, 33, of no fixed abode, was detained by the female City of London officer on August 19 after she spotted him taking a video of his victim without her being aware. A string of similar videos of other […]

The prison population of England and Wales has hit a record high, with the number jumping by nearly a thousand in the past four weeks. Some 88,350 people were in prison as of August 30, Ministry of Justice figures show. This is up 116 from 88,234 a week ago and an increase of 988 from 87,362 four weeks ago on August 2. It is the highest end-of-week figure since weekly population data […]

Care providers are working in a “sea of regulatory dysfunction”, a new report has warned as its analysis suggested six in 10 homecare organisations in England either have out-of-date ratings or have not been rated by the healthcare watchdog at all. As of June this year, more than a third (37%) had last been rated after an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) between four and eight years ago, […]

The Government wants smokers to be “much more likely” to give up the habit by introducing changes such as reducing the number of places where a person can smoke, a minister has said. Leaked proposals, reported by The Sun newspaper earlier this week, suggest the Government will ban smoking in some outdoor areas, such as at restaurants and hospitals, to improve public health. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told reporters […]

An England fan who seriously assaulted a fellow Three Lions supporter at the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany has been handed a three-year football banning order. Josh Waugh, 34, of Conway Road, Redcar, Cleveland, was at the England v Serbia match on June 16 in Gelsenkirchen when he started a fight at around 10pm. He was handed the ban after a hearing at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, Cleveland Police […]

Rewilding efforts in part of the Scottish Highlands have resulted in local populations of an “amazing species” of endangered bird reaching their highest level for 17 years, conservationists have announced. Black grouse, which are seen as an important indicator species for ecosystem health, have suffered UK-wide decline over recent decades due to threats such as habitat loss and intensive land management. The distinctive black, white and red birds, which use […]