'Complete nonsense': Boris Johnson denies claims that he prioritised animals in Afghanistan airlifts
Boris Johnson has denied that he and his wife Carrie intervened to evacuate the charity worker Pen Farthing and his rescue dogs from Afghanistan, despite claims to the contrary by one of the charity’s employees.
Mr Johnson said it was “complete nonsense” that either he or his wife, an animal rights activist, instructed the Foreign Office to evacuate Mr Farthing, his staff and his animals.
The charity worker’s evacuation was sponsored by the UK following the fall of Kabul, although it has been claimed that none of the staff or dogs involved qualified under official Foreign Office criteria.
A whistleblower’s testimony to the Parliament’s foreign affairs committee has claimed that there was a “direct trade off” between Mr Farthing and Afghan refugees, and that the operation to airlift the dogs put British soldiers at risk.
Read more here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/12/07/boris-johnson-dismisses-claims-intervened-pen-farthing-kabul/
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#BorisJohnson #Afghanistan #Airlifts
December 07, 2021
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Afghanistan withdrawal: Raab says whistleblower may have misunderstood pressures as he was 'junior'
Dominic Raab has suggested the Foreign Office whistleblower did not have a full grasp of the pressures being face on the ground in Afghanistan as he was a "relatively junior desk officer".
Raphael Marshall, a 25-year-old desk officer, has submitted to the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee a dossier of evidence detailing the dysfunctional and bureaucratic process behind the evacuation this summer.
But Mr Raab, who was then foreign secretary, rejected Mr Marshall's claims that Whitehall's “work-life balance” culture and work-from-home directive meant junior officials were left to make significant decisions on their own.
"I constantly checked we had enough resource," he told BBC Breakfast. "I appreciate that Raphael was doing job under difficult circumstances himself at a relatively junior level in London but the real pressures [were] on the ground... it was the challenge and difficulty of ascertaining facts on the ground that was the biggest single pressure."
He told Sky News it might have felt "like you were under a lot of pressure" because Mr Marshall was so young.
This morning Tom Tugendhat, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, suggested the minister could be asked to return to give further evidence before MPs, having already done so in an extraordinary session this summer.
Read more here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/12/07/boris-johnson-sajid-javid-civil-service-afghanistan-tory-brexit/
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December 07, 2021
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Pedestrian guilty of murdering driver who braked to avoid him
A pedestrian who stabbed a driver to death in front of his young son after the motorist performed an emergency stop to avoid running him over and then angrily shouted at him will be jailed for life.
Alexander Layton was convicted of murdering James Stokoe, a 40-year-old married father, in his BMW in Thornaby, Teesside, in May 2020, following a trial at Teesside Crown Court.
Mr Stokoe had taken his four-year-old to see his grandparents and the boy was strapped in a car seat during the horrific attack.
Layton, 34, from Shackleton Close, Thornaby, denied murder and possessing an offensive weapon, unsuccessfully claiming self-defence.
Peter Makepeace QC, prosecuting, had told jurors that Layton had got off a bus after a trip to a food bank when he crossed a busy main road, causing Mr Stokoe to brake sharply.
The driver was angry and pulled over to shout at Layton, not knowing he was carrying a kitchen knife in his rucksack.
The defendant walked up to the car and, with his victim still behind the wheel, repeatedly stabbed him, causing him to bleed to death within minutes.
Read more here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/12/07/watch-pedestrian-guilty-murdering-driver-braked-avoid
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December 07, 2021
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Couple in UK hotel quarantine: 'I can't eat the food'
Cold food, tearful guests and exercise consisting of a 20-minute daily walk around a bleak car park isn't what most people would associate with a hotel stay.
But this is the quarantine reality for people returning to the UK from South Africa.
One such couple serving time at one of the government-approved hotels are Kate and Alex Freed.
After getting married in September, they booked their post-nuptial trip to South Africa. But the honeymoon period is well and truly over, and they are now stuck in an "awful" hotel overlooking Heathrow serving "inedible" food.
Perhaps the most grim condition is that they have to request to be allowed go for a walk outside.
Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/12/06/inedible-food-tears-20-minute-daily-walks-around-car-park/
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December 06, 2021
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Durham University professor tells students 'speech does not cause pain'
A Durham college head has apologised for calling students "pathetic" after they walked out when the journalist Rod Liddle spoke at a formal dinner.
Professor Tim Luckhurst, principal of South College, reportedly shouted "at South College, we value freedom of speech" as several students left the dining hall in protest at the choice of guest speaker.
The university has launched an investigation, saying it is "concerned" about the "behaviours exhibited" during the evening.
In an apology email to members of the college, Professor Luckhurst said that students had "exercised their right" to leave dinner and added that the students had "as much right to absent themselves from the speech as my guest had to make it".
Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/12/06/durham-college-head-apologises-calling-students-pathetic-staging/
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December 06, 2021
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In full: Nadhim Zahawi statement on the murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes
Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, has said the "whole nation is distraught" at the "tragic and horrific" death of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes as he announced a national investigation into the tragedy.
Speaking in the Commons, he said: "We across this House and across this country find it impossible to imagine how any adult could commit such evil acts against a child."
He was followed by the Health Secretary Sajid Javid who addressed the pandemic.
There is now "community transmission across multiple regions of England" of the omicron variant of Covid-19, Sajid Javid has told MPs.
The Health Secretary told the Commons: "The omicron variant is continuing to spread here and around the world.
"According to the latest data there are now 261 confirmed cases in England, 71 in Scotland and four in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases across the UK to 336.
"This includes cases with no links to international travel. So, we can conclude that there is now community transmission across multiple regions of England."
Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/12/06/boris-johnson-news-dominic-raab-booster-drugs-myanmar-brexit/
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December 06, 2021
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‘They’re killing us slowly’: Sandstorms and drought stalk Madagascar
Life has never been easy in southern Madagascar, but it wasn't always this hard, either. Sandstorms, drought and poverty have pushed the vast region into a hunger crisis – with 1.3 million people experiencing severe food insecurity.
The United Nations has warned the situation is at risk of spiralling into the “first climate change famine on earth”, though others argue that decades of deforestation and underdevelopment have played a much larger role in creating the current crisis.
In the last two to three years the price of water has jumped by 300 per cent, while food has become increasingly scarce as the worst drought in four decades has decimated harvests. Locals increasingly rely on raketa mena, or red cactus fruit, to survive.
Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/climate-and-people/climate-change-famine-in-madagascar/
Produced and directed by Harriet Barber, Global Health Security
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December 06, 2021
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Japan demonstrates firepower in military drills as tensions with China escalate
Japan is looking to boost its military through measures such as acquiring the capability to strike “enemy bases" in a bold defence upgrade announced on Monday against a backdrop of an increasingly assertive China and tensions with North Korea.
The security environment around Japan was “quickly becoming more severe”, said new prime minister Fumio Kishida in a policy speech in Tokyo, as he vowed to consider “every option” to boost the country's defences.
His speech - which also tackled the pandemic and economic stimulus packages - unfolded at the same time as the media were granted rare access to military drills on Japan’s northernmost island Hokkaido, just across the waters from Russia.
Dozens of tanks and hundreds of soldiers firing explosives and machine guns across the landscape were showcased in an unusual public display of military firepower, marking the start of nine days of war games involving around 1,300 Ground Self Defence Force troops.
Read more here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/12/06/japan-boost-army-including-capability-strike-enemy-bases-amid/
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#Japan #China #Military
December 06, 2021
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How Kamala Harris became 'the incredible disappearing vice president'
Kamala Harris made history as the first woman, first Black American and first Asian-American to become vice president.
But after less than a year in the post, she is a historically unpopular vice president, according to Washington Editor Rozina Sabur.
As seen in the video above, where Ms Harris was once always in the frame during Joe Biden's major addresses, she's been notably absent from the president's side of late.
“For now at least, it seems she is no longer Joe Biden's heir apparent,” says Rozina Sabur.
“A number of Democrats seem prepared to challenge her for the nomination should Biden not seek re-election in 2024.”
Watch her full analysis above.
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#KamalaHarris #Biden #Democrats
December 06, 2021
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Boris Johnson pledges to crack down on UK drug gangs and middle-class users
The UK government will invest 300 million pounds in tackling drug gangs and boost rehabilitation for users, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.
A crackdown on middle-class drug users will be announced on Monday, meaning they face being forced to go to rehab or losing their passports and driving licences.
Boris Johnson wants thousands more "lifestyle" drug-takers to face "tougher real-life consequences" for use of substances such as cannabis, cocaine and ketamine.
Police will set enforceable conditions on out-of-court orders requiring first time or recreational drug users to undergo rehabilitation or face prosecution, curfews or the confiscation of ID documents.
A Home Office source said: "It's the end of the slap on the wrist and send you on your way."
The move is part of a 10-year drugs strategy, unveiled on Monday, that will see police given £145 million to try to "wipe out" county lines gangs, an expansion of drug testing to anyone arrested or serving community sentences and an increase of £550 million for community drug treatment services.
Read more here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/12/06/end-slaps-wrist-middle-class-drug-users/
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#BorisJohnson #Drugs #UK
December 06, 2021
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Eric Zemmour is put in a headlock as violence erupts at his first political rally
French hard-Right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour suffered a wrist injury after he was put in a headlock by a protester as violence erupted at his first political rally on Sunday.
The 63-year-old author and television commentator suffered the injury when a man grabbed him violently as he made his way towards the stage at a giant exhibition centre northeast of Paris, an aide told AFP.
It came as Mr Zemmour's supporters clashed with anti-racism activists who had come to disrupt the event.
In an hour-and-a-half-long speech to an estimated crowd of 10,000, Mr Zemmour promised to “reconquer” France and set out his vision of “zero immigration” as he launched salvos against the Left and mainstream media.
Read the latest here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/12/05/eric-zemmour-supporters-gather-paris-campaign-launch/
#ericzemmour #france #rally
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December 06, 2021
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'Unacceptable' that some people are still without power after Storm Arwen, says Energy Secretary
Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said it is an "unacceptable situation” that some people are still without power more than a week after Storm Arwen caused outages.
Britain is now once again set to be battered by a storm as Storm Barra arrives.
The Met Office has now named the weather front that is set to arrive from the west on Tuesday, in the shortest window between official storms since 2018.
Large swathes of northern England are still reeling from Storm Arwen, the first named storm of the winter season nine days ago which brought 98mph winds and disrupted power supplies to more than one million homes.
Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/12/05/storm-barra-arwen-uk-weather-today-met-office-warning/
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#PowerCuts #StormArwen #StormBarra
December 05, 2021
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Villages in East Java are blanketed in ash from Semeru volcano
Rescuers battled through hot ash and debris yesterday/SUN as they tried to find survivors after a volcano erupted, submerging villages, killing at least 14 people and leaving dozens with burns.
The eruption of the tallest mountain on the Indonesian island of Java the day before sent thousands fleeing in panic and blanketed homes with molten ash.
Houses and vehicles were left submerged in at least 11 villages in East Java’s Lumajang district, where Semeru is located, with some roofs poking out of layers of thick mud.
Volcanic ash smothered livestock and forced hundreds of families into makeshift shelters in mosques, schools and village halls.
Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/12/04/volcano-eruption-kills-one-injures-dozens-indonesia
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#Volcano #Indonesia #Semeru
December 05, 2021
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Pre-departure Covid-19 tests reintroduced for anyone travelling to the UK
Fully vaccinated travellers will be required to take pre-departure Covid-19 tests before coming to – or returning to – the UK, despite the Transport Secretary warning that such a move could “kill off the travel sector again”.
On Saturday afternoon, the Cabinet’s Covid operations sub-committee signed off on proposals to reintroduce a requirement for all travellers to take tests before coming to the country, coming into force from 4am on Tuesday, in an attempt to slow down the spread of omicron.
Ministers also agreed to place Nigeria on the travel red list, from 4am on Monday, requiring arrivals to quarantine for 11 nights in a government-approved hotel at a cost of up to £2,285.
Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/12/04/holidaymakers-face-return-pre-departure-covid-tests-curb-omicron/
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#Omicron #UKTravel #Airports
December 05, 2021
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Ofgem says power networks could have to pay compensation or fines for Storm Arwen outages
Ofgem has threatened enforcement action against energy firms over their sluggish response to restore power to more than 9,000 homes in the aftermath of Storm Arwen.
Eight days after the storm struck, thousands in the north of England and Scotland are still without electricity.
Households in the affected areas are bracing themselves for freezing temperatures with lows of 1C and an onslaught of sleet and rain predicted in the next 24 hours.
Most areas are unlikely to see temperatures rise above 7C.
A disabled woman in Northumberland told reporters she feared she “wouldn’t survive” in the “bitter cold” after her power was knocked out.
Fifty miles away, a man in County Durham said he was forced to use his dog as a “hot water bottle” to stave off the near freezing temperatures.
The Ministry of Defence has deployed nearly 300 troops to help local authorities deal with the aftermath, with an extra 80 soldiers sent in on Saturday to check on vulnerable residents after the storm caused "catastrophic" damage to energy networks.
Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/12/04/storm-arwen-ofgem-threatens-fine-energy-firms-slow-response
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#Ofgem #StormArwen #PowerOutage
December 04, 2021
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Indonesia's Mount Semeru spews ash cloud as it erupts
At least one person has died and 41 are injured after Indonesia's Semeru volcano on Java island erupted on Saturday, spewing out huge clouds of smoke and ash.
Videos shared by emergency officials showed residents running as towering plumes of smoke and ash blanketed nearby villages in East Java province.
Authorities are setting up evacuation tents, the country's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said, but evacuations have been hampered by thick smoke.
Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/12/04/volcano-eruption-kills-one-injures-dozens-indonesia
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#Indonesia #Semeru #Volcano
December 04, 2021
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How to lay the perfect Christmas table with Mrs Alice
In this video The Telegraph's Jessica Doyle and Mrs Alice show you how to lay the perfect festive table ready for your family to celebrate Christmas day. From themes, to place settings, centrepieces and personal touches - In this short video we'll show you how to put together a Christmas table to impress your guests, whether you are a seasoned hostess or taking up the challenge of hosting Christmas for the first time.
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November 23, 2021
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Sir Richard Sutton killing: Accused 'led police on 135mph car chase'
Video footage of Thomas Schreiber being pursued by armed police at speeds of up to 135mph into central London has been shown to the jury in his murder trial.
Schreiber denies murder and attempted murder and the trial continues.
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December 03, 2021
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BioNTech CEO says omicron could infect vaccinated people as scientists work to modify Covid jabs
Germany's BioNTech should be able to adapt its coronavirus vaccine relatively quickly in response to the Omicron variant, its CEO Ugur Sahin said on Friday, adding that despite the mutation shots should continue to protect people against severe disease.
"This variant might be able to infect vaccinated people. We anticipate that infected people who have been vaccinated will still be protected against severe disease," Dr Sahin said in an interview during the Reuters Next conference.
Sahin also said that mutations in the virus meant it was more likely that annual vaccinations would be the norm, as is the case with seasonal flu, and that a new vaccine would be needed against COVID-19, although it was not yet clear when.
Read more here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/dont-freak-omicron-says-scientist-behind-pfizer-jab/
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#Vaccine #Omicron #Covid
December 03, 2021
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Xi Jinping has adopted Mao's mantle | Matthew Henderson interview
To discuss what a Chinese century might look like, Steven Edginton is joined by the former diplomat Matthew Henderson, who spent many years in China. Watch the full video above or listen on your podcast app by searching “Off Script”.
Read more:
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December 02, 2021
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