Uk news

The Met Office has warned that almost two weeks of rain could fall over a 30-hour period. A rain warning has been issued for south-west England, with powercuts and flooding expected. The worst of the weather will take place between noon today and 6pm tomorrow. It comes after weeks of rain and flooding resulted in communities being cut off - and even a woman dying in Debyshire. The latest Met Office weather warning states: "Showers on Friday morning will be replaced by more persistent rain during the afternoon and evening. "The rain will be heavy at times, lasting through much of Friday night and Saturday morning before slowly dying out during Saturday afternoon. "20 to 30 mm is likely to fall quite widely, and 40 to 50 mm may accumulate in a few places, most likely across the higher ground of south Devon." The alert warns that a few homes and businesses will likely be flooded and some train and bus services will probably be delayed. The average total rainfall in the UK for November … [Read more...] about UK weather: Met Office warning as ‘two weeks of rain to fall in 30 hours’

One of the hero Brit divers who helped save the young football team trapped in a cave in Thailand has touched down on UK soil. John Volanthen was one of the first divers to find the boys in the cave complex in northern Thailand - nine days after they had gone missing. John is believed to have caught the Thai Airways flight TG 910 departing at 1.08am which landed at London Heathrow at 7.07am today. Rick Stanton and John were the first divers to reach the group nine days after they went missing in the underground network. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8Cancel Play now The pair, along with a number of other British elite divers had flown to the region to assist at the request of Thai authorities. On Tuesday the last of the Wild Boars football team were brought safely to the surface and taken to hospital. John and Jason Mallinson have both been awarded free flights for life to Thailand following the miraculous rescue. … [Read more...] about Hero Thailand cave rescue diver who helped save trapped boys returns home to UK

For 17 days they were trapped in a cave with no food and dwindling ­oxygen, the only sounds the drip of water from stalactites and each ­other’s weakening voices. But when the 12 Thai lads were reunited with their rescuers at the Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards, the noise was a rapturous standing ovation. Four months after their ordeal, the schoolboys and their football coach flew to the UK for our awards ceremony. On Monday night they handed Outstand­­ing Bravery Awards to five of the men to whom they owe their lives. They were from a British Cave Rescue Council team, which included expert divers John ­Volanthen, Jason Mallinson, Rick Stanton, Chris Jewell, Josh Bratchley and Connor Roe, who found the Wild Boars football team in the extensive cave system and brought them all safely out. Speaking through a translator, coach Eak Jantawong, 25, told the Mirror: “We want to say thank you so many times to our rescuers, it would take the … [Read more...] about Heartwarming moment Thai cave boys reunited with UK rescue team at Pride of Britain Awards

Britain’s “outright defiance” of a UN deadline to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius by Friday, in a final act of African “decolonisation”, has been condemned by Mauritius and the globally-scattered communities of exiled islanders. The Labour party’s election manifesto, published on Thursday, pledges to allow Chagossians to resettle in their homeland. Earlier this year, the UN general assembly voted by an overwhelming majority of 116 to six countries in favour of a motion condemning Britain’s occupation of the remote islands and demanding what the Foreign Office terms British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) be reunified with Mauritius. An advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in The Hague, found the islands had been illegally severed from Mauritius in the 1960s. The president of the ICJ, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, urged the UK and other member states to “complete the decolonisation of Mauritius”. The UK regards … [Read more...] about UK set to defy UN deadline to return Chagos Islands

Tony Blair's government decided up to a year before the Iraq invasion that it was "a complete waste of time" to resist the US drive to oust Saddam Hussein, opting instead to offer advice on how it should be done, the former British ambassador to Washington said today. Sir Christopher Meyer, testifying to the Chilcot inquiry into Britain's role in the war, made it clear that once the Bush administration decided to take military action, the Blair government never considered opting out or opposing it. He said that the timing of the invasion was dictated by the "unforgiving nature" of the military build-up rather than the outcome of diplomacy or UN weapons inspections, which had not been given sufficient time. British officials were left "scrabbling for the smoking gun" – evidence for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction – as preparations continued. Meyer, ambassador to Washington from 1997 to 2003, described a critical moment in March 2002, as Blair was preparing a visit to … [Read more...] about Chilcot inquiry: Tony Blair decided on Iraq war a year before invasion – envoy