School pupil among two dead in meningitis outbreak A school pupil is the second person to have died following an outbreak of meningitis in Kent The student was in Year 13 at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham and is understood to have died on Saturday. The other person who died attended the University of Kent.
Donald Trump urges UK to send warships to help secure Strait of Hormuz The UK must send ships to help the US secure a key oil shipping route out of the Middle East, Donald Trump has said. The US president appealed to the UK and other nations including France, China and Japan to send warships
Chancellor to intervene to ease soaring energy bills Rachel Reeves drawing up plans to help with spiralling costs as Iran war continues Targeted support could be offered to households struggling with soaring energy bills as a result of the Middle East crisis, Rachel Reeves has indicated. The Chancellor said she would give support “to those
Andrew and Lord Mandelson pictured in bathrobes with Jeffrey Epstein Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Lord Peter Mandelson have been pictured in bathrobes alongside paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The undated photograph has been unearthed as part of the US department of justice’s Epstein-related document dump earlier this year. In the image, first reported by ITV News, Andrew,
UK economy flatlines unexpectedly in January The UK economy unexpectedly stalled in January following meagre growth at the end of last year, official figures have shown, amid fears Britain is heading for a hit from the Iran conflict as prices are sent soaring. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there was zero growth in
VIP donor with ultra-rare blood says she feels ‘honoured’ to help sick patients A woman whose blood is so rare that it can be frozen for up to three decades every time she donates has said she feels “very special and honoured” to be able to help sick patients. Mina Stoddart-Stones has been giving blood
Edinburgh International Festival to mark 250 years of American independence This year’s Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) “will confront complexity with curiosity and openness” as it marks 250 years of American independence, its director has said. The 2026 programme – entitled All Rise – will feature some 147 performances and organisers said it aims to promote
MPs to look at fairness of student loans system MPs will examine the fairness of student loans repayment in a new inquiry following increasing debate over the system. The Treasury Committee is asking young people for their views on things like whether they would still take out loans today and how their student loan repayments
NHS trusts face ‘perilous’ financial situation with deficit of £780m last year Many organisations in the health service face a “perilous” financial situation, with analysis finding that NHS trusts ran a deficit of more that three quarters of a billion pounds last year. The situation is forcing health leaders to make “increasingly difficult choices” that
CPS loses appeal over Kneecap rapper terror case Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh will not face a terror trial after judges at the High Court rejected a Crown Prosecution Service appeal against the decision to throw out the case. The rapper, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, was accused of displaying a