News – World and UK

UK gas stores have fallen to “concerningly low” levels amid freezing cold temperatures, the owner of British Gas has said. Centrica said the UK now has less than a week’s worth of demand for gas in store. On Thursday, stocks at UK gas storage sites were 26% lower than the same period last year, leaving them about half full, the energy giant said. Gas inventory levels have come under pressure […]

The opening of the UK’s first safer drugs consumption room will be a “significant step forward” in efforts to tackle Scotland’s drug problem, John Swinney has said. The First Minister was speaking as he toured the Thistle Centre in Glasgow’s east end, which is due to open on Monday. The centre will allow addicts to take drugs under supervision in a clean and hygienic environment, with medical help available if […]

Recruitment freezes in NHS scanning and cancer departments are risking patient care, the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) has warned. The College said evidence shows NHS trusts are trying to save cash by not filling posts – undermining efforts to cut waiting times for patients and pick up early cancer cases. Others have been placed under freezes by national NHS bodies, preventing them from hiring new trainees, consultants, or other […]

More than two million train tickets will be discounted during a promotion starting next week, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced. Cheaper Advance and Off-Peak tickets will be available to buy in the rail sale between January 14 and 20. They will be sold for travel across Britain between January 17 and the end of March. Examples of price reductions on typical Advance fares – which are the cheapest […]

Temperatures will continue to fall over the coming days, with the mercury potentially reaching minus 20C Weather warnings for ice are in place across the majority of Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as large parts of the east of England.  The lowest overnight temperature was minus 12.4C in Inverness-shire and the Met Office has forecast that lower valleys in Scotland could now reach between minus 12C and minus 16C […]

The death toll has risen to 10 from the Los Angeles-area fires, according to the county coroner’s office. The fast-moving Kenneth Fire started in the late afternoon in the San Fernando Valley near the West Hills neighbourhood and close to Ventura County. Only hours earlier officials expressed encouragement after firefighters aided by calmer winds and help from crews from outside the state saw the first signs of successfully beating back […]

The first safe drug consumption room in the UK will “offer hope” to hundreds of people, community leaders have said. The Thistle will open in the east end of Glasgow on Monday at an existing NHS enhanced drug treatment service. Scotland has the highest rate of drugs deaths in Europe, with fatalities rising by 12% in a year to 1,172 drug-related deaths in 2023, of which 246 were in Glasgow. […]

Greggs, Iceland and Greene King are among the British businesses to back a new Government initiative aimed at steering offenders on probation away from crime and into stable jobs. Leaders from major employers will be among those to sit on new employment councils in regions across England and Wales. The plans have been spearheaded by Lord James Timpson, the Government’s prisons officer and the former chief executive of the family-owned […]

The Prime Minister welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to Chequers on Thursday evening for wide-ranging discussions over dinner. Sir Keir Starmer said it was a “privilege” to host Mr Macron, the second world leader to meet the Prime Minister at his official country retreat since he took office in July. Describing the meeting as “further evidence of our ability to work well together”, Sir Keir said the pair planned to […]