6:38 am, August 24, 2023
Consultants announce more strike action as second walkout begins
Patients could face ‘severe delays’ and routine hospital care is expected to come to a standstill as consultants in England strike for 48 hours amid the bitter row over pay between medics and the government.
As the strike began on Thursday, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced plans for a three-day walkout later in the year. Medics will strike on October 2, 3 and 4 and are also planning to walk out on September 19 and 20.
NHS leaders are anticipating ‘major disruption’ during the current walkout, with thousands of the most senior hospital doctors expected to be absent from work. Consultants will still provide ‘Christmas Day cover’ during the strikes, which means emergency care will be provided.
UK watching closely following reports of Wagner chief’s death in plane crash
UK ministers are closely watching Russia following reports that the leader of the Wagner mercenary group died in a plane crash.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner chief, was reportedly on the passenger list of a private jet which went down almost 185 miles north of Moscow on Wednesday, according to Russian authorities.
All 10 people on board: three pilots and seven passengers, died according to officials cited by Russia’s state news agency Tass. It was not clear if Prigozhin was among those on board the plane, but Russia’s civilian aviation regulator said he was on the manifest.
Students receive GCSE results amid plan to return to pre-Covid grading
Teenagers across the country are waking up to their GCSE results in a year when the proportion of top grades awarded is expected to fall.
Hundreds of thousands of pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving grades to help them progress to sixth form, college or training.
Similar to the pattern with A-level results last week, it is expected that top GCSE grades will drop on last year as part of a plan to bring grades down to pre-pandemic levels in England this year. It comes after Covid-19 led to an increase in top grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.
Humza Yousaf to announce £24m for countries worst hit by climate crisis
Countries worst affected by the climate crisis will be supported by up to £24m in Scottish government funding, Scotland’s first minister will announce on Thursday.
Humza Yousaf will make the announcement as he welcomes US special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry to Scotland to speak at an event in Edinburgh.
Three aid agencies, including the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF), will each receive up to £8m over the next three years from the Scottish government’s Climate Justice Fund to support work in Rwanda, Malawi and Zambia.
Trump attacks rivals in online interview while skipping presidential debate
Donald Trump dismissed his Republican rivals for the US presidency as they went head to head in the first debate on Wednesday.
The former president, the early frontrunner to secure the party’s nomination, skipped the first presidential debate in Milwaukee, opting for a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
The 46-minute interview was posted online five minutes before the debate between eight candidates aired on Fox News. In it Trump said: ‘Do I sit there for an hour or two hours, whatever it’s going to be, and get harassed by people that shouldn’t even be running for president? Should I be doing that at a network that isn’t particularly friendly to me?’
Giuliani turns himself in on Georgia 2020 election charges
Rudy Giuliani surrendered to authorities in Georgia on Wednesday, on charges alleging he acted as former US president Donald Trump’s chief co-conspirator in a plot to subvert the 2020 election.
The former New York City mayor, celebrated as ‘America’s mayor’ for his leadership after 9/11, is charged with Trump and 17 other people under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act.
His bail has been set at 150,000 dollars (£118,000), second only to Trump’s 200,000 dollars (£157,000). Prison records showed he was booked on Wednesday afternoon.
Ex-NatWest boss Alison Rose set for £2.4m payout after resigning over Farage row
NatWest has said former boss Dame Alison Rose is set to receive a £2.4m pay package, a month after she resigned in disgrace from the banking giant.
The company has said it will continue to review her planned pay and bonus payouts in relation to ongoing investigations into her actions surrounding a row over Nigel Farage’s account.
The former Ukip leader said on X, formally Twitter, that the pay deal is ‘a sick joke’.
Fiat creates ‘world’s smallest zero-emission gelateria’ in one-off 500e Convertible
Fiat has created a zero-emissions ice cream van on a compact scale using its 500e Convertible.
Billed as the ‘world’s smallest, zero-emission gelateria’, the one-off concept is based on Fiat’s electric 500e Convertible and aims to provide a ‘greener’ alternative to the traditional ice cream van.
As well as its eye-catching two-tone exterior finish with frozen gelato display, the concept features two 15-litre freezers and can even play an ‘Italian orchestral alert’ to let passers-by know that it’s ready to serve. The passenger and rear seats have been removed entirely, freeing up space for the attendant to move around. Gelato is then handed over to customers via the rear of the vehicle.
Frozen gelato trays are mounted above a bespoke cabinet where the battery-powered freezers are placed, while accessories such as cones, tubs and spoons are all kept here too. When the convertible fabric roof is down, a canopy can be raised above the vehicle to provide a bit of extra shade from the sun.
Weather
Heavy thundery showers for the south this morning. These will be severe in some parts, but will clear later in the day avoiding the rest of the UK. Elsewhere it’ll be a day of variable cloud and showers. Highs of 24 degrees.
Clear and dry for most areas tonight. North-western Scotland will see the odd shower, turning heavy at times.
