6:44 am, August 9, 2023
UK and Turkey strike new deal to ‘disrupt and dismantle’ smuggling gangs
The UK and Turkey have struck a new deal to address the surge in illegal migration, which will focus on co-ordinated actions to ‘disrupt and dismantle people smuggling gangs’.
Central to the partnership is the establishment of a new operational ‘centre of excellence’ by the Turkish National Police.
A new memorandum of understanding will also facilitate the swifter exchange of customs data, information and intelligence between UK and Turkish authorities, bolstering the collaborative efforts to disrupt the supply chain of materials employed in illegal migration.
PSNI apologises to officers and civilian staff after ‘monumental’ data breach
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has apologised to its thousands of serving officers and civilian staff whose personal and employment data was compromised in a ‘significant’ data breach.
Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he is ‘deeply concerned’ by the data breach, while the Police Federation for Northern Ireland (PFNI) said its members are ‘appalled’.
The incident happened when the PSNI responded to a Freedom of Information request seeking the number of officers and staff at all ranks and grades across the organisation. In the published response to this request a table was embedded that contained the rank and grade data, but also included detailed information that attached the surname, initial, the location and the departments for all employees of the PSNI. The data was potentially viewable by the public for between 2.5 to three hours.
Strikes cancellations ‘tip of the iceberg’ – NHS Confederation
The true impact of NHS strikes on patients is being ‘masked’ and the number of cancellations and postponements is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’, NHS representatives have said.
So far, almost 835,000 appointments have been postponed as a result of industrial action since December across the health service in England, according to NHS figures.
But in a ‘worst-case scenario’, industrial action in the NHS could have caused double the number of cancellations than that being reported, the NHS Confederation said.
Man stabbed near British Museum was waiting in queue, bystanders say
A man stabbed in the arm near the British Museum was waiting in the queue to enter, witnesses have said.
As he attempted to escape, the middle-aged man was ‘dripping blood everywhere’ along the busy street which was packed with tourists.
The male attacker fled the scene but was quickly captured by police a short distance away and was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm, the Metropolitan Police said.
UK economy faces ‘stuttering growth’ due to higher interest rates – think tank
The UK economy will witness ‘stuttering growth’ over the next two years amid pressure from higher interest rates and increased unemployment, according to a think tank.
The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said in its main forecast that the economy will avoid a recession – defined by two or more quarters of falling gross domestic product (GDP) in a row – in 2023 but there is still a ’60 per cent risk’ of a recession at the end of 2024.
It predicted that UK GDP will increase by 0.4 per cent in 2023, representing a marginal improvement on its previous forecast in May. But Niesr also downgraded previous predictions of 0.6 per cent growth next year down to 0.3 per cent after pressure from higher-than-expected borrowing costs.
Mayor calls for historic pub gutted by fire to be rebuilt ‘brick by brick’
A historic pub gutted by fire should be rebuilt ‘brick by brick’, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has said, as footage emerged of it being demolished.
Street said The Crooked House pub in Himley, Staffordshire, ‘holds real cultural and historical significance’ and its loss in the blaze is ‘deeply upsetting’.
On Monday (Aug 7), footage emerged on social media of what remained of the building being demolished by a mechanical digger. The blaze, which was tackled by 30 firefighters, came just two weeks after the building was sold by pub company Marston’s to a private buyer for ‘alternative use’.
Tuesday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Two in three new car buyers don’t recognise new EV brands – despite some being on sale in UK
- Big Motoring World notches up record sales
- Activists destroy tyres on dozens of SUVs at dealership as ‘act of retaliation’ for girls’ deaths
- Fraudster tried to con dealership out of £24,000 BMW with fake finance application
- Tesla CFO Zachary Kirkhorn departs after 13 years
July confirmed as the hottest month on record
July has been confirmed as the hottest month on record, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) has said.
It beat the previous one set in 2019 by 0.33C – a substantial margin by the standards of temperature records – reaching 16.95C.
July is estimated to have been around 1.5C warmer than the average for 1850-1900, Copernicus said, and 0.72C warmer than the 1991-2020 average.
Virgin Galactic to launch its first space tourism flight
An 80-year-old former Olympian with Parkinson’s disease will be one of three passengers on board Virgin Galactic’s first space tourism flight when it blasts off on Thursday.
Jon Goodwin, from Newcastle, will join Keisha Schahaff, 46, and her daughter Anastatia Mayers, 18, who is studying physics in Aberdeen, on the VSS Unity for the 90-minute trip. The two women will be the first mother and daughter to make a trip to space after winning a coveted place in a prize draw, while Mr Goodwin secured his seat 18 years ago after buying a 250,000 dollar (£194,500) ticket.
After taking off at 4pm (BST) from New Mexico in the US, in the mothership VMS Eve, VSS Unity will separate and take them into sub-orbital space, where they will briefly experience weightlessness, while looking back at Earth.
The MG4 Extended Range hits the road from £36,495
MG has announced pricing and specifications for its new MG4 Extended Range.
The long-distance EV, which is equipped with a 77kWh battery, can deliver up to 323 miles on a single charge, making it the first MG electric vehicle able to push through the 300-mile range barrier.
Priced from £36,495, the MG4 Extended Range uses a 180kW electric motor which allows for a 0-60mph time of 6.3 seconds.
Weather
Patchy cloud and sunny spells for most parts today, reports BBC Weather, while Northern Ireland and western areas of Wales and England may see a few drops of rain. Slightly warmer than of late, with temperatures rising to around 24 degrees.
Drizzle will clear tonight leaving patches of variable cloud. The west may see some coast fog.
