Close

Published 30 September 2020 Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic A venue which hosted a wedding attended by more than 100 people has been ordered to close and seen its manager fined £10,000. The event, which breached the then-limit of 30 people for weddings, took place on 23 September at the Grand Park Hall in Park Street, Luton. Bedfordshire Police shut down the event and later issued a dispersal order to reduce crowds that remained. A force spokesman said it had been a "flagrant disregard of the rules". On its website, Grand Park Hall describes itself as a venue "perfect for all size wedding parties" which can accommodate between 100 and 550 guests. Luton Council has issued a direction notice on the premises ordering it to close until it is satisfied that it will reopen safely. The town, which has a population of …

[Read more...] about Covid: Luton venue closed down over 100-strong wedding

The government has been urged to close a loophole that allows child abusers to openly share images of victims on social media. Charities are warning that selectively taken clips from well-circulated abuse videos that do not include the moments of abuse are being used to create so-called "tribute pages". They are calling for the digital secretary, Nadine Dorries, to amend the government's new Online Safety Bill to ban this content which features known survivors of sexual exploitation. Why isn't this content being taken down? Social media platforms refuse to take down these "carefully edited abuse videos because they don't meet a criminal threshold," said Andy Burrows, head of child online safety policy at the NSPCC. "We know abusers are using social media as a shop window to advertise their sexual interest in children, connect with other offenders, and post digital breadcrumbs to guide them to child abuse content, all in plain sight of platforms," added Mr Burrows. …

[Read more...] about Government urged to close legal loophole letting child abusers openly share images of victims on social media

Boris Johnson announces move to 'Plan B' for Covid restrictions Sign up to receive our rundown of the day's top stories direct to your inbox SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Plan B restrictions have been announced by the Prime Minister this evening as part of the Covid winter plan. Vaccine passports, face masks and working from home have all been brought back in light of the Omicron variant surging through parts of the UK, Boris Johnson announced this evening. Related articles Covid Plan B shopping rules change - every restriction so far When Covid Plan B could come into force - Every restriction in full The Prime Minister said: "From this Friday we will further extend the legal requirement …

[Read more...] about Schools closing: Will there be school closures as Covid Plan B unveiled?

Ms Palaszczuk (pictured) will announce on Monday if the state will open its borders earlier than December 17 Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is set to reveal when the state will open its borders on Monday with the double vaccination rate closing in on 80 per cent. The state will scrap quarantine for vaccinated domestic arrivals when 80 per cent of eligible people are fully jabbed, initially expected to be December 17. But Ms Palaszczuk has not ruled out opening up the state earlier, saying an update will be provided on Monday. There is speculation Queensland will hit their 80 per cent target within a week. 'We'll have updated figures tomorrow (Monday) which will show when we're expected to hit that 80 per cent so we'll be very closely watching those numbers,' Ms Palaszczuk said on Sunday. Overall 87.3 per cent of eligible Queenslanders have received one jab and 78.45 per cent are fully vaccinated. Queensland recorded no new community cases on Sunday. …

[Read more...] about Annastacia Palaszczuk to announce whether Queensland will open its borders EARLY as state closes in on vaccine milestone

The supermarket chain Spar has been forced to close scores of stores following a cyber attack. The outage, which first struck on Sunday, has left more than 300 shops unable to receive credit card payments or use email. Many branches were forced to shut, although some sites have managed to stay open by accepting cash. It was unclear if any customer data had been compromised. The majority of Spar’s stores are run as franchises by different companies and they span five major areas in the UK. A spokesman said only stores in the north of England, run by distribution partner James Hall & Company, were affected. “We are working to resolve this situation as quickly as possible - [the issue is] not affecting Spar UK as a whole,” he said. Customers complained on social media about the closures. One tweeted: “Anyone know what happened to Spar shops today? I'm currently visiting a friend in Whitby and went there for milk. Two Spar stores with fuel stations closed. Saw an …

[Read more...] about Cyber attack forces Spar stores to close

I n 2010, things started going wrong at the steel plant in Warren, Ohio, a Rust Belt town that went on to cast its votes twice for Donald Trump. A cooling panel started leaking, and the furnace operator didn’t see the leak in time; the water hit molten steel, leading to an explosion that sent workers to the hospital with burns and severe injuries. A year later, another explosion caused another round of destruction. A federal regulatory investigation turned up dozens of safety violations. “They just kept cutting corners,” one employee said. “They were running a skeleton crew. They would not hire more help.” A few years later, the plant halted operations. In January 2016, it shut down for good. Some 200 people lost their jobs. Here, as Casey Michel writes in American Kleptocracy , is what the Warren Steel plant looks like now: Cavernous holes gouge the siding, with peeling yellow and blue paint giving way to swaths of rust and sloshes of mud. Vacant lots and missing windows, …

[Read more...] about The Kleptocrats Next Door

Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal’s wedding festivities are well under way at the Six Senses Fort Barwara and if reports are to be believed, their families are bonding pretty well too! A source close to the wedding party told India Today that Katrina’s British mother Suzanne Turquotte has already extended an invitation to Vicky’s parents Veena and Sham Kaushal to visit the Kaif family in London. They went on to add that the Kaushal family is already planning to head to London in January 2022, soon after Katrina and Vicky officially tie the knot this week. The couple is all set to get married on December 9 and kicked off their wedding festivities on December 7 with a sangeet ceremony. …

[Read more...] about Katrina Kaif’s mother invites Vicky Kaushal’s family to London

American TV personality Khloe Kardashian hoped ex boyfriend Tristan Thompson would be faithful to her this time, says source close to the star. After being subject to constant infidelity at the hands of the father of her child, Kardashian is devastated for trusting the NBA player. The insider reveals that the 37-year-old was adviced by friends on multiple occasions to refrain from taking Thompson back, but the Good American founder "always believed that he would change" and wanted to keep the family intact for True. "She is just a really great person and wants to see the positive in people," the source says, adding, "It's just a sad situation to her." "She was just hopeful that he would stay faithful and loyal to her," says the source. "Khloe's family always tried to support her," the insider adds. "They always treated Tristan well even after he broke Khloe's heart multiple times." Meanwhile, Tristan Thompson has found himself in the middle of a paternity scandal where a …

[Read more...] about Khloe Kardashian was warned by friends before taking Tristan Thompson back

Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) signed a coalition agreement with the leaders of the environmentalist Green Party and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP) in a ceremony in Berlin on Tuesday. The move comes a day after the Greens voted to approve the coalition deal, the last party to do so. Germany's incoming chancellor, Olaf Scholz , is due to be elected and sworn in as Angela Merkel's successor this week. DW's chief political editor Michaela Kuefner noted that with the signing of the coalition deal, "this is the moment the post-Merkel Era begins for real." What did leaders say? Scholz said that tackling the coronavirus pandemic and the surge of fourth wave infections in Germany will initially require all of the new government's "strength and energy." "If the good cooperation that worked while we were forming the government continues to work, it will be a very, very good time for the tasks that lie ahead of us,'' he said. Greens co-leader and …

[Read more...] about Germany’s incoming government signs three-party coalition deal

China has responded to a warning from incoming German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock that authoritarian states like the Asian powerhouse should be reined in . Baerbock, who is also co-leader of Germany's Green Party told Die Tageszeitung (TAZ) newspaper that import curbs should be used as leverage at the European level, which would be a "big problem" for Beijing. Her comments signaled a policy change for the next German coalition, led by incoming Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which is expected to take office next week. Watch video 04:26 Is China really open to compromise? What did Baerbock say? Baerbock argued that Germany's grievances with China should be clearly addressed. "Eloquent silence is not a form of diplomacy in the long run, even if it has been seen that way by some in recent years," she told TAZ, in an apparent reference to Chancellor Angela Merkel's outgoing government. "For me, a value-based foreign policy is always an …

[Read more...] about China uneasy over incoming German minister’s threat to curb imports