News – World and UK

Labour grandee Lord Peter Mandelson is expected to be the next UK ambassador to the US. Lord Mandelson, who served in the cabinets of Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is poised to be the UK’s next top diplomat in Washington, as President-elect Donald Trump returns to office. The tenure of Dame Karen Pierce, the current office holder, is expected to come to an end at the start of 2025 […]

A new once-a-day tablet that treats advanced breast cancer is to be rolled out on the NHS, with about 1,100 patients in England set to benefit. The final guidance on elacestrant by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) comes after it provisionally rejected the drug in October. The charity Breast Cancer Now welcomed the news but said it remains “deeply concerned that the system is not working […]

Household water bills in England and Wales will increase by an average £31 a year over the next five years, regulator Ofwat has announced. The increase is significantly higher than the expected average rise of around £20 a year per household, outlined in the regulator’s draft proposals in July. Ofwat said the increase would pay for a £104 billion upgrade of the water sector to deliver “substantial, lasting, improvements for […]

Disadvantaged pupils in England find it “increasingly difficult” to catch up as they progress into secondary school, a report has suggested. The Government should prioritise early intervention but also carry out continued interventions throughout pupils’ schooling to reduce the disadvantage gap, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has said. The think tank’s report highlights significant variation in the attainment gap between disadvantaged learners and their peers in different areas of England. […]

There has been a “catastrophic” rise in deaths caused by drinking, leading public health experts have said. The Alcohol Health Alliance (AHA) has called for urgent action from the Health Secretary to redress the “alarming trend”. In a letter to Wes Streeting, the Alliance – which is made up of medical royal colleges, charities, treatment providers and academics – highlights how deaths caused “solely by alcohol have increased by a […]

Sea slugs making a home in the UK due to climate change are among the species spotted around the country’s coasts in 2024, The Wildlife Trusts said. Sea monitoring by volunteers and conservationists this year also revealed invasive species such as Pacific oysters and showed some wildlife making a comeback, including St Piran’s hermit crabs along the south coast – which were wiped out by the Torrey Canyon oil spill […]

Not guilty pleas have been entered on behalf of the teenager accused of killing three children at a dance class in Southport after he failed to speak in court. Axel Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, appeared via videolink at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday and failed to reply when he was asked to enter pleas to 16 charges he faces. Judge Mr Justice Goose said he was satisfied the defendant could […]

A teenager has been jailed for killing three of his friends after inhaling laughing gas behind the wheel and speeding at more than 100mph. Thomas Johnson, 19, was driving a BMW when it crashed into a lamppost and a tree, killing three passengers, on the A415 in Oxfordshire, last year. He was jailed for nine years and four months at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday for causing the deaths of […]

The wife of physical trainer Amie Gray who was “butchered” to death on Bournemouth beach has said she can now “rest in peace” after a student was convicted of her murder. Nasen Saadi, 20, of Croydon, south London, was also found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of the attempted murder of Ms Gray’s friend, 39-year-old Leanne Miles, as the pair were enjoying a late-night chat next to a small fire […]