Labeling it as bold, audacious, or even outright insane might not be too far from the truth when considering the endeavor being undertaken, especially when it involves a team of more than a dozen individuals.
However, this seemingly wild idea is already in motion, as a group comprising 12 men and one woman has embarked on an extraordinary journey from Accra, Ghana’s capital, to London, the administrative hub of the United Kingdom.
The objective of this daring adventure? To drive a distance of 10,000 kilometers from Accra to London, all while enjoying the experience.
Their target is to reach London by Sunday, August 6, or Monday, August 7, 2023.
During an interview with Kwami Sefa Kayi, a member of the team known as Saka, who was speaking from Spain, explained that their inspiration stemmed from hearing numerous tales of people traveling from foreign countries to Ghana and other African nations.
Additionally, he highlighted that they are undertaking this journey primarily as a lighthearted and enjoyable activity.
“We are explorers and we are doing this for fun. We read about people driving from Europe to Ghana all the time, and we also planned to do it and we are almost there,” one of the explorers told Kwami Sefa Kayi,” he said.
Fascinated by their adventure and their ability to navigate through several borders, Kwami Sefa Kayi asked the expeditioners whether they had visas and how they were able to go through the borders.
Saka then told him that their journey from Accra to Mauritania was purely with the use of their Ghana Car.
“We used our Ghana Card to travel all the way to Mauritania,” he explained.
Saka also told Kwami what their intention is after they make it to London as scheduled.
The expeditioner told the broadcaster that their idea is to sell their respective businesses to the Ghanaian communities in the city before they return him.
He also added that their plan is to attempt a journey from Accra to Cape Town, South Africa, in 202.
The Ghana Card, apart from its primary use as a national identification, is also certified by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) as an international travel identity card.
Currently, the Ghana Card can be used to travel into Ghana from all countries and can also be used to travel to countries with no visa requirements with Ghana such as West African countries.
Brain injury survivors who are now artists are presenting their works in the Barbican Center in London.
The Barbican arts center and the charity Headway, which uses music and the arts to assist people with brain impairments regain control of their lives, have worked together for four years to create the Differently Various show.
People who have benefited from the charity also wrote the music for the display.
— Headway – the brain injury association (@HeadwayUK) July 31, 2023
Yokabet Mekuria is one of the artists on display at the Barbican.
In her self-portrait, she is depicted in vivid colors.
“With the colours I suppose it’s like to say I’m joyful, I’m not hiding in the background any more, I’m here,” Mekuria says.
“To actually see myself here is unbelievable because I never thought I would be here,” she adds.
The artistic process has served as a way of rehabilitation for the artists here, like Mekuria.
The artworks in Differently Various celebrate survival and the courage of those who inspired them, even though the artists’ injuries permanently altered their lives.
Up through August 6, the exhibit is on view at the Barbican Center in London.
It’s great to look forward to anything when you’re sitting in your house watching the rain pelt your window.
However, the UK Met Office is here to deflate your hopes if what you’re hoping for is some nice shorts and ice cream summer weather.
The national weather office does not anticipate any significant temperature increases until the season is done, despite some cautious optimism.
In actuality, the rain is likely to keep pelting your window for several days or perhaps weeks.
The unsettled regime appears most likely to continue to dominate, at least for the first half of the month, according to a statement from the Met Office: “Looking ahead to the rest of August there are currently no strong signals for any warmer or more settled weather.”
Overall, later in August would likely have the best potential of bringing about any brief, drier, and slightly warmer interludes.
The likelihood of heatwaves in the UK is lower than in previous recent Augusts, therefore it appears unlikely that we will experience any extended or extreme heat.
Tomorrow will see the issuance of two yellow weather alerts: one for the south coast of England and the other for a portion of the UK between London and Manchester that will see thunderstorms and “unseasonably windy” conditions.
There is a chance of some surface water flooding in particular in the eastern section of northern England due to persistent rain.
The nation is set to see colder weather, but the meteorological agency had projected a lengthy ten-day rainstorm in London between July 29 and August 7.
Those who are in need of more heat may want to be careful what they wish for, though, as summertime temperatures of more than 40C, which were first observed in the UK during the disastrous July heatwave last year, may become the norm in a few decades.
According to UK climate projections, even in the case of a medium emissions scenario, the year 2022, which is currently the warmest year on record, could become the norm by the middle of the century and relatively cool by the end.
Remembering that climate change is still a problem does not imply that the UK has been spared the extreme heat that was experienced there last summer and in southern Europe in recent weeks, scientists are asking the public to do.
According to Professor John Marsham of the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Leeds, “pollution from fossil fuels has warmed our planet, and this increases extreme rainfall and floods as well as the likelihood and intensity of heatwaves.”
“The extreme weather has already resulted in crop losses, skyrocketing food prices, and fatalities.” If we don’t quickly move from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and clean power, this will only become worse and eventually wipe out entire ecosystems.
If we don’t take action soon, future news headlines will likely focus more on food costs and water shortages than on holidays.
Only a few hours after announcing a large number of North Sea oil and gas licences, Rishi Sunak has once more defended his use of a private aircraft.
The prime minister has long been under fire for using a private jet to travel throughout the UK, with detractors pointing out that environmentally friendly transportation was frequently an option.
Sunak has taken a variety of trips, including a helicopter flight to Dover (followed by an hour-long train ride), three private plane flights in a 10-day period, and a private jet flight from London to Blackpool.
Private aircraft cause up to 14 times more pollution than commercial aircraft and consume more fuel than those aircraft.
Sunak, however, stated that he will travel to Scotland today to announce money for a carbon capture and storage project during a tense and difficult interview with the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland today.
I’ll be flying as usual since that’s the best use of my time, he declared.
The Tory leader claimed that individuals who were critical of him for using a private jet as the climate issue grew wanted to outlaw “holidays.”
If you or others believe that stopping people from doing anything is the best way to combat climate change, he continued, “I mean, I think that’s absolutely the wrong approach.”
Sunak took a private flight this afternoon to St Fergus, a small community near Peterhead, where the Acorn carbon capture project in the North Sea will be presented.
While some of Sunak’s private jet travel is funded by government dollars, it is also well known that Tory contributors pay the tab.
Given how “efficient,” he said, travelling by plane to St. Fergus is what prime leaders before him have long done.
Sunak continued, “But if your approach to tackling climate change is to say no one should travel, I think you are completely and utterly wrong. That is absolutely not the approach to tackling climate change.”
The transition will be aided by new technologies like carbon capture and storage, thus we are investing in sustainable aviation fuel.
Sunak asserted earlier today that the UK will give hundreds of additional oil and gas licences and that the country requires fossil fuels.
Despite the fact that the objective has been codified into law, he asserted, “Even when we reach net zero in 2050, a quarter of our energy needs will still come from oil and gas.”
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), roughly six in ten Britons express concern about climate change.
The Conservatives have fought against green initiatives including low-emission zones and low-traffic districts while questioning some of Britain’s emission reduction targets.
The UK “has lost its clear global leadership position on climate action,” according to the Climate Change Committee, an independent advisory body to the government.
According to a study by the European Association for clean transport Transport & Environment, private jets are 50 times more polluting than railroads and 14 times more polluting than commercial planes per passenger.
A single private jet may produce two tonnes of CO2 in just one hour. An typical trip in one emits roughly the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as driving a petrol vehicle 16 times the length of the UK, or around 860 miles, from Paris to Rome.
While the annual CO2 production of the average person is around seven metric tonnes.
In all, Greenpeace discovered in March that private aircraft emissions have skyrocketed in Europe, totaling 5,300,000 tonnes of CO2 over the previous three years.
This is a little bit more what Uganda, a nation with over 46,000,000 people, generates in a year.
British environmental policy, according to Oliver Sidorczuk, co-director of Zero Hour, the cross-party campaign for the Climate & Ecology Bill, is at best ‘poor’ even as climate change worsens.
After the hottest summer on record, the UK Government should be accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon, environmentally beneficial future rather than approving additional oil, gas and coal initiatives, said he.
Sunak must work with other world leaders to present a “people-powered plan to reverse nature’s decline,” which will help to reduce rising fuel prices and generate green jobs.
‘This should be Rishi Sunak’s top concern,’ Sidorczuk continued, ‘and possibly something for him to think about during his next helicopter or private jet trip.’
A horrific collision involving two cars and a van in northern France claimed the life of a British woman.
One of the three people who perished on the A26, south of Lens, has been identified as Miriam Posen, a resident of the Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Stamford Hill, London.
Her two girls and their father were hurt in the collision and are undergoing medical attention, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
The mother of ten was reportedly travelling with seven family members when the incident occurred.
Seven Britons were reportedly inside the van when the crash occurred last night shortly after 6 o’clock, according to the local media.
Children are among those who were injured, according to an emergency services representative.
They said, “One of the three vehicles involved in the crash was a van with a British family of seven people on board.”
Along with two other passengers in another car, a 40-year-old British woman perished instantaneously.
The remaining travellers, who ranged in age from six to 48, were transferred to hospitals in Arras and Cambrai.
It has been determined that two people who were riding in one of the cars—a 75-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man—died.
A 79-year-old man who is in a “critical condition” and a 14-year-old boy who were the other two occupants in this vehicle.
Three children, the youngest of whom was six years old, were among the four occupants in the third car at the time of the collision.
Soon after, 60 firefighters and other emergency services rushed to the area.
The collision occurred between the towns of Neuville-Saint-Vaast and Thélus on a stretch of the highway when construction was being done on the roads.
‘We are in contact with the local authorities following a road traffic accident in France and have given our assistance to the family,’ an FCDO representative stated.
A father of two who drove his campervan into London’s low emission zone (LEZ) “without knowing” he was being taxed resulted in a £2,000 bill.
On Good Friday earlier this year, Colchester resident Geoffrey Eaton, 53, his wife Linda, 53, and their two kids, Adam, 16, and Elizabeth, 13, made the trip to the nation’s capital.
In what was supposed to be a “relatively cheap” and “fantastic” day out, they had planned to visit family, but it ended up being a “very nasty surprise.”
Transport for London issued the independent architect a fine and a £2,000 payment demand after he drove his RV five miles into and out of the city’s low emission zone, which is distinct from the ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) and stretches to the M25.
To and from a campsite in Abbey Wood, Geoffrey travelled two five-mile distances within the zone, for which he was charged £300 each time.
However, Mr. Eaton said that he was unaware that the zone went beyond the North and South Circular roads of the capital and that he did not observe any warning signs.
He didn’t recognise his error until he got the penalty letter in the mail a week later, on April 18.
By this point, each trip had increased in price by £1,000 as a result of his late payment of the additional fees he was not aware of.
He was subsequently forced to utilise his credit card and cancel his summertime travel plans since he had no other choice.
Since then, TfL has agreed to a £1,400 “discretionary refund.”
We haven’t travelled outside of the country in six years, and this $2,000 fee would have completely ruined our summer vacations, he claimed.
It arrived at the worst possible time because our heating and energy costs have been rising steadily and are crushing us everywhere.
To be completely honest, I had no idea how I would find the money to pay the payment.
The Laika Ecovip motorhome, which has a 2.8L engine and is classified as weighing 3.5 tonnes or more, was left parked while Geoffrey and his family travelled around the city and visited his wife’s cousin Mary using trains and other forms of public transport.
When Geoffrey found a campground in Abbey Wood, not far from Mary’s home in Plumstead, he thought he had stumbled across “a little gold mine.”
We could see my wife’s cousin on the Friday and then take the kids to London for the day on the Saturday because Abbey Wood is a really wonderful little oasis and it’s only five minutes from Abbey Wood station, he said.
The married pair, who both grew up in London and wanted to show their kids where they worked and some of the city’s most well-known attractions, were fortunate that they chose to utilise trains and other forms of public transit because they might have been charged extra.
We all had Oyster cards, so one of the primary reasons we picked Abbey Wood was to be able to board the Elizabeth Line or Thameslink, which was actually closed on the bank holiday.
“Our day in London was fantastic.”
We visited the Southbank, ate in China Town, took the kids to Covent Garden and the Royal Festival Hall, and showed them some of our old haunts, places we used to work, and other stuff.
It is a rare occasion for Geoffrey and his family to travel to downtown London.
We’d be looking at £60 or £70 for the four of us to come into town if we took the train from Colchester, he continued.
So, in my opinion, it meant that we could all enjoy London for a reasonably priced day trip.
Although Geoffrey joked to his wife that they should take advantage of the chance because it was about to be extended in August, he was unaware that the low emissions zone, which is intended to limit or discourage access by some polluting vehicles, extends to the M25.
To be completely honest, I forgot about it until I received the penalty charge notification yesterday,’ he claimed.
When I logged on, I saw that I had been charged £1,000 for both the Friday excursion into the office and the Sunday departure.
The truth is that I had to charge that much to my credit card since I didn’t have the money.
Geoffrey was informed that the punishment will increase to £4,000 if it was not paid by May 1.
To be really honest, I just wouldn’t be able to pay it, therefore I can’t risk it increasing up to £4,000, he stated.
Geoffrey does not object to London having a low emission zone, but he cannot recall seeing any signs on the road or at the Abbey Wood Caravan And Motorhome Club Campsite.
He said, “If I had to pay £100 to be stupid and not realise that I entered the zone, I would have paid that.”
But £2,000 is a significant sum of money—it’s equivalent to a month’s pay.
“We could have gotten a room in The Shard, but we spent two nights in the motorhome.”
For Geoffrey, driving through London’s extremely low emissions zone is nothing new. He registered his ‘dirty diesel’ Jaguar Xf with Transport for London so that he will be charged automatically if he crosses the queue.
The problem is that it costs around £12.75, or whatever, to enter an ultra low emissions zone in my automobile.
However, I was unaware that another zone went all the way to the M25.
He will keep using his motorhome, which he purchased a few years ago, notwithstanding the event.
The ability to take the kids out and spend more time as a family has been made possible by the motorhome.
We’ve been able to take a number of vacations that would have been too expensive otherwise.
Geoffrey said that he simply was not aware that he was driving inside the zone even though he challenged the case.
I think I’m quite alert when I’m driving, he claimed.
However, I don’t think I noticed any signs indicating the presence of a low emissions zone, such as those found at congested areas or near the Dartford Tunnel.
Drivers need to be aware that everything inside the M25 is subject to charges.
When consumers are faced with hefty penalty fines, a TfL representative said, “we offer support and suggest a manageable way of settling outstanding amounts.”
“We talked about this with Mr. Eaton, and he is pleased with the result.”
“The low emission zone (LEZ) is a well-established policy that has been in effect since 2008. There are signs and advance warning devices at each of the zone’s entry points.
“The LEZ has been incredibly successful in deterring people from driving some of the most heavily polluting vehicles through the capital.”
Currently, 97% of the vehicles in the zone are in compliance with the rules.
Avoid organising any barbecues this month because it will be cloudy.
Forecasters have issued a warning for cloudy conditions and rainy weather similar to what we saw in July.
Mainland While wildfires and heatwaves are raging across Europe, the UK has fortunately avoided experiencing the same amount of heat as last year.
However, there have been concerns that summertime highs of 40°C will soon be seen as the norm.
Forecasters predict that London will see ten days of continuous rain and showers between July 29 and August 7.
The jet stream is expected to bring intervals of rain and showers as well as moderate temperatures of 20°C in the south and 17 to 18°C in the north for the next seven to ten days, according to meteorologist Phil Morrish, who spoke to the Express.
The picture for the upcoming weeks is similarly grim according to the Met Office.
According to its website, the upcoming days will be “unsettled,” with days of sunny patches and showers possibly mixed with periods of heavier rain as low pressure systems travel across the UK.
When these low pressure systems do develop, the southern portions of the UK are more likely to see them while the north continues to experience dry weather.
Otherwise, on showery days, showers will frequently be centred in the north and east, where they could occasionally combine into extended periods of rain and be heavy and thundery at times.
Western regions are more likely to stay dry, however there is still a potential of showers.
The forecast calls for temperatures to be a little below average, with a strong northwesterly breeze enhancing the feeling of coolness.
Overall, the likelihood of strong winds is higher than usual.
There is a higher likelihood that the unstable weather will continue into the second part of August, continuing to afflict the UK with a combination of rain and showers.
A lengthy dry and hot spell is unlikely, but there is a signal for brief drier, brighter, and occasionally warmer interludes towards the end of August.
Scotland and the north of England have recently experienced sunny periods while the south has experienced dreary weather.
“The forecast for the next couple of weeks is unsettled, but that shouldn’t give the impression of continuous or heavy rain,” Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge told MailOnline.
“Rain is predicted for London over the next few days, but most of it will be showers, with clearer periods in between.”
Following a more than 18-hour delay, 200 individuals were left with little choice but to spend the night on the airport floor.
Everyone who was anticipating boarding the EZY8232 flight to London Gatwick was still waiting about 20 hours after it was scheduled to take off from Rhodes Airport at 9.10 p.m.
Londoners Charlie Johnson, 30, and Joshua White, 31, spent four nights on the Greek island to “get some sun and read their books.”
But like so many other tourists last week, their holiday has turned into a nightmare with wildfires raging through the area, leading to the evacuation of thousands.
Charlie and Joshua are two of the 200 Charlie estimates were left ‘stranded’, with ‘absolutely no communication’ from easyJet on Saturday night.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘We were given a voucher for €4.50 which covers the cost of a Fanta. A coffee is €4.75 and the cheapest sandwich is €6.50 so it doesn’t even cover a meal.
‘There was no information, we were just left to sleep on the floor overnight and wait until we knew when we knew our flight was going to arrive. There are lots of young children, elderly people, disabled people all just being left to sit on the floor and fend for themselves and live off a €4.50 voucher.’
EasyJet told Metro.co.uk the situation was caused by ‘a large number of customers deciding on the inbound flight that they no longer wanted to travel to Rhodes’.
The airline said it could not offer hotel accommodation ‘due to the situation in Rhodes following the wildfires’.
It has since announced two repatriation flights will take place tomorrow, with a third on Tuesday.
Charlie said: ‘There aren’t any hotels left because they’re being used for people who have been evacuated because of the fires.’
She went on: ‘It is absolute carnage. We’re also stuck in the departure gate because we’ve gone through passport control so we now can’t leave the area.
‘So we’re limited to a very small part of the airport with only one restaurant that accepts our vouchers and only one bathroom and it is heaving. There are not enough seats.
‘There are people who have asked to just leave the airport and arrange their own alternative plans but we’re literally not allowed to leave – because our baggage is on the plane I think.’
An easyJet plane reportedly arrived at Rhodes Airport at around 8am this morning, which about 50 people were able to board, according to Ben Wright, who was also supposed to be on the flight.
He said children, families and the elderly were trapped in a 40°C cabin with no aircon and no news for half an hour, before they were informed the plane would actually not be flying.
EasyJet confirmed that the delay caused by having to re-board the inbound flight pushed the flight crew past the legal number of hours they are allowed to work.
The travellers were told the pilot would come and speak to them but footage posted on Twitter shows an airport worker announcing: ‘The captain has refused to come and speak to passengers.
‘We have no information from easyJet at this point with what is happening with your flight and we do apologise.’
Charlie said: ‘Everyone is really frustrated. Quite a low of people are upset. It would almost be better if easyJet just held their hands up “we screwed up” but we’ve just not heard anything from them.’
At around 4.20pm local time, easyJet started ‘some sort of boarding by reading out names one by one’ to determine who could get onto the plane, Charlie said.
Police were called to hold the crowd back as they tried to push to the front to ask for more information about who was being allowed to board.
Eventually, they were told families with children could go through.
‘It’s like the Titanic or The Hunger Planes,’ Charlie joked.
She added: ‘I obviously do feel really awful for the people who had to evacuate their hotels and stuff. We’re stuck in an airport which is obviously far better than being stuck on a beach – I’m not insensitive to what’s going on.’
When the couple got to the front of the queue, they were part of a group of between 20 and 25 who were told there were not enough seats for them, Charlie said.
About an hour later, Charlie said the plane had not left yet, ‘so they’re all sitting on a plane with no air con in 40°C temperatures’.
She has not been told ‘anything’ about when she and the remaining passengers are going to be able to leave. They have all been given another €4.50 voucher.
EasyJet said: ‘We are very sorry that Saturday evening’s flight from Rhodes to Gatwick was delayed due to a large number of customers deciding on the inbound flight that they no longer wanted to travel to Rhodes.
‘This meant all passengers needed to be re-boarded which caused a further delay which unfortunately led to the crew exceeding their maximum duty time and required the inbound aircraft from Gatwick to divert to Athens.
‘This meant that the flight from Rhodes to Gatwick had to be delayed overnight and operated by a replacement aircraft.’
The company added: ‘The safety and well-being of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority. We would like to apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused.’
A young, aspiring lawyer was attacked on his way home from a store by two drug dealers, and they were found guilty of murder.
On the afternoon of February 6, 2021, Sven Badzak, 22, and a companion, 16, were attacked by a group of six men as they were returning from a Waitrose in Kilburn, northwest London.
Sven was repeatedly stabbed as he slumped to the ground, but his friend was able to flee to a neighbouring Tesco to call for assistance before he passed out from back wounds.
Now, Rashid Gedel, 22, from Ilford, and Shiroh Ambersley, 22, from Wembley, have been found guilty of Sven’s murder.
The Old Bailey also convicted them for wounding with intent but acquitted the pair of attempted murder.
Prosecutor Anthony Orchard KC told the court he believes the young men were ‘the unfortunate victims of mistaken identity’.
He said they were targeted in a ‘gang-style attack’ over what the killers regarded as their drugs territory, despite ‘neither victim being a gang member or associate’.
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Eight minutes before the murder, Gedel and Ambersley had gone to a bakery looking for other young people to attack, Mr Orchard told the court.
Gedel was caught on CCTV ‘inspecting’ two hooded youths at the counter before walking out of the shop.
During this time, Sven and his mate had been to the Waitrose on Finchley Road, about half a mile away.
As they walked back, the 16-year-old was watching a Liverpool football game on his phone.
Mr Orchard said: ‘As the two friends walked west on Willesden Lane, Gedel drew closer to them. Sven Badzak and his friend were wholly unaware of what was about to happen.’
Jurors were shown CCTV footage of the pair walking together when their paths crossed with the killers, with one of the attackers asking: ‘What are you on?’
Sven was stabbed in the chest and dropped his Waitrose shopping bag as he fled and collapsed outside a burger restaurant.
Mr Orchard said: ‘His attackers catch up with him on the ground. It appears he was kicked and punched.
‘During the totality of the attack, he was stabbed four times. His phone fell to the ground. No attacker attempted to retrieve it. At least one of those attacking him shouted out.
‘The attack on Sven Badzak lasts no more than 20 seconds.’
Part of the group of attackers had tried to follow the 16-year-old when he ran to a Tesco supermarket but they eventually gave up their chase and ran away.
Both defendants, who were identified on CCTV, admitted being at the scene but denied they were carrying knives that day and claimed they were only there to sell drugs.
Gedel claimed he did not even know Sven had been stabbed.
He said: ‘I was a bit shocked someone died. I assumed it was only a punch. People were texting me. I went on Google to see what it was about.’
He also added that he was sent a video on Snapchat of Mr Badzak laying on the floor and bleeding but did not know why people thought he would be interested.
The court was told Gedel had four previous convictions for carrying blades dating back to 2014 and on his arrest in March 2021, a hunting knife was seized from his bedroom wardrobe.
Ambersley also had a conviction for possession of a blade, two offences of threatening with an offensive weapon in a public place and affray, and possession of drugs.
Mr Orchard said two other alleged members of the group were not in the dock.
Harvey Canavan, 19, from Maida Vale, previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter and unlawful wounding and Lior Agbayan, 20, had fled to the Ivory Coast and has not returned, jurors were told.
The remaining two suspects have not been identified, the court heard.
Gedel and Ambersley, whose trial was initially delayed because of industrial action last summer, will be sentenced at a later date.
One year after wildfires tore through London, experts are raising the alarm about how ‘unprepared’ the UK is to handle heatwaves.
This week, a heat wave that covered Europe, North America, and Asia caused temperatures to soar to unprecedented heights.
Since the heat has turned the woodlands into tinderboxes, firefighters in Greece and the Canary Islands of Spain have been battling wildfires that have destroyed animals and driven hundreds of people from their homes.
Though the UK has avoided the extreme heat that its European counterparts are experiencing, concerns about the country’s readiness for the heat are growing.
Seeing fire rip through countries has brought back memories of the devastating wildfire this time last year in Wennington, a village about 15 miles from central London, that destroyed 16 homes.
But according to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), 23 fire engines a day have not been available in London so far this month – or about one in six of the capital’s 142 engines.
Wennington, a village about 15 miles from central London, was gutted by a wildfire last year Getty Images Europe
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A peak of 28 fire engines was unavailable on July 16, the union claimed. The London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) only fireboat, essential for river rescue and fighting fires, has been unavailable for 13 shifts.
The lack of vehicles has also been down to a lack of staff, too, data obtained by the FBU claimed. Its figures include appliances ‘off the run’ – unavailable – because of a lack of firefighters.
Around one in five firefighter jobs – about 1,100 since 2010 – have been cut even as extreme weather increasingly becomes the norm. This is ‘putting lives and homes at risk’, FBU general secretary Mark Wrack said.
‘One year on from the devastation of last summer’s wildfires, cuts are still leaving the fire service unprepared,’ he said.
‘Londoners should be furious that in the capital city of one of the richest countries in the world, firefighter numbers have been cut so badly that more than 20 fire engines are sitting idle every day.
‘This is a disaster waiting to happen again.’
A major incident review of the LFB detailed how a shortage of staff and fire appliances hampered the brigade’s response to the July 2022 wildfires.
The LFB insisted yesterday that officials are ‘far better prepared’ for a punishing heatwave this year.
Dom Ellis, the LFB’s Assistant Commissioner, said more than 100 new officers have been recruited and all teams have been given specialist wildfire-busting training.
‘We hope in the next year to 18 months we’ll be as near to full establishment as we can get,’ he told The Evening Standard.
He added: ‘We’re bringing forward additional training to get additional recruits through the door so that we can have all of our, or as many of our appliances, on the run as possible.’
Though, experts say that heatwaves and the devastation they bring with them – wildfires, floods and health risks – will soon become a staple of the summer.
Heatwaves aren’t just an especially toasty afternoon, the Met Office says, they’re hot spells of at least three days that break the daily maximum temperatures threshold.
Europe’s heatwaves – one named Cerberus after the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the underworld and the other its raggedy ferryman, Charon – have sent thermometers up to as high as the mid-40s for days.
European governments had plenty of time to prepare. In 2003, more than 70,000 people died due to an exceptionally hot summer in Europe.
Last year, the heat left 61,000 dead, according to a report published last week that researchers admit is a conservative estimate at best.
Given Britain’s reputation when it comes to the weather – think rain, rain and more rain – heat is something of a ‘new challenge’ for the country, Dr Candice Howarth, the head of Local Climate Action and lead of Heat Risk Resilience Hub at the LSE Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said.
‘Extreme heat is a relatively new challenge for the UK, and currently, there is insufficient research, policy, and action to ensure communities, businesses and infrastructure are prepared for, and can adequately respond to this impact of climate change,’ she told Metro.co.uk.
‘The UK will become more exposed to heatwaves in future and the hot summers we are seeing today will become more frequent and more intense.’
Dr Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer in climate science at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London, has a few ideas of what needs to be done.
‘In the UK, there are a wide range of challenges. Our cities and homes are not built to deal with extreme heat,’ she said, adding they need to have ‘resilience’ in mind.
More long-term planning is needed, Dr Otto said, as costly and complicated as it can be. Think refitting homes and offices so they aren’t sponges for heat, planting more trees and parks and ensuring that health services are prepared.
‘It should be an absolute no-brainer to do this,’ Dr Otto says.
Last year’s wildfire was a brutal test of how well the UK can cope with the warmth, while Europe’s blistering heat is a reminder of the challenges to come.
‘As well as direct deaths from heatstroke, heatwaves are dangerous for the elderly because extreme heat compromises the body’s ability to deal with existing health problems,’ Dr Otto said.
‘Increased admissions to hospitals due to heatwaves will likely further strain the NHS which is already under immense pressure.’
In 2022, 3,271 excess deaths were recorded during heat periods across England and Wales, according to official figures.
This was an average of 82 excess deaths per day. About 638 more deaths than normal were recorded in England on July 19, the hottest day of that year which saw 40.3°C recorded in Coningsby, Lincolnshire.
Dr Howarth said while it is ‘encouraging’ to see London’s fire brigade introduce specialist wildfire training, the burden mustn’t fall on local services alone.
Government officials need to learn from Europe and establish a ‘culture of heat’, better educating people on how to ‘prepare and respond’.
‘If the government fails to show more leadership on preparing for these extreme heat events, then we are likely to see a rise in heat-related deaths, wider impacts on workers’ health and productivity, and increased overheating in UK homes and buildings that are ill-equipped to stay cool in the summer,’ she added.
For Dr Otto, the temperatures afflicting much of the world are a reminder of how climate change, driven by human-made forces like planet-warming greenhouse gases, is changing the world.
The return of El Niño, a cyclical weather pattern, isn’t helping to keep the world cool either.
The planet has warmed about 1.1°C since the 19th century and, Dr Otto said, will continue getting hotter until countries stop burning coal, oil and gas.
‘Heatwaves will stop getting hotter only when the world reduces global emissions to net zero,’ Dr Otto said. ‘Until this happens, more and more people will die from heat-related causes.’
A car collided with a parked lorry at a layby near Stonehenge in Wiltshire, killing an 11-year-old kid.
Around 7.30 p.m. yesterday, emergency personnel were called to the site on the A303.
In a layby on the westbound carriageway, they discovered a black BMW that had hit the back of a lorry.
The young Londoner was pronounced dead there and then.
Wiltshire Police said the driver of the car, a man in his 40s, and a passenger, a 15-year-old boy, had been taken to Southampton General Hospital after suffering potentially life-changing injuries. Both are also from London.
The driver of the lorry was not injured in the incident.
The A303 eastbound has now reopened, police said, but the westbound carriageway remains closed.
Acting Inspector Will Ayres of the Roads Policing Unit said: ‘This is a tragic incident where a young boy has lost his life and two more people are in a serious condition in hospital.
‘Their next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. Our thoughts are with them at this very difficult time.
‘I would urge anyone who witnessed anything to please get in touch with us.’
After a car in London collided with a school building, an 8-year-old child died.
Just before 10am, a Land Rover struck a wall at The Study Preparatory School on Camp Road in Wimbledon.
Pictorial evidence from the site suggests that the kids were taking part in an end-of-term outdoor activity since a picnic mat and table were set up outside the school.
Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland confirmed the child’s death, adding: ‘This is tragic news and our thoughts are with the girl’s family and friends, and everyone affected today.
‘We remain at the scene and are continuing our investigation into the full circumstances of the incident.’
The Camp Road site of the school caters for younger children between the ages of four and eight.
For many in the area – described as being like a ‘village’ by locals – the tragedy has left them ‘shaken’.
In London, a car crash into a school building resulted in the death of a youngster.
A Land Rover collided with a wall at The Study Preparatory School on Camp Road in Wimbledon soon before 10am.
View the most recent developments on our live blog right here.
‘This is devastating news, and our sympathies are with the girl’s family and friends, as well as everyone affected today,’ said Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland, local police commander for south west London.
“We continue to investigate the full circumstances of the incident at the scene,” the statement reads.
A woman aged in her 40s has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
Pictures from the scene show a picnic mat and table set up outside the school, suggesting the children had been enjoying an end-of-term party.
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Witnesses to the crash reported hearing a large bang which sounded ‘like a bomb going off’.
The Camp Road site of the school caters for younger children between the ages of four and eight.
The Land Rover outside the school this morning – a significant section of the school’s wall appears to be damaged in the picture (Picture: Sky News)The Study, on Camp Road in Wimbledon, offers places for girls aged 4-11-years-old (Picture: PA)Emergency services on the scene this afternoon (Picture: EPA)
The Study Preparatory School, which costs £16,000 a year to attend, offers education for girls aged four to 11-years-old.
Scotland Yard said in a statement earlier: ‘Officers remain at the scene of a serious collision at a primary school in Wimbledon.
‘Police were called at 09:54hrs on Thursday July 6 to reports that a car collided with a building at the school in Camp Road.
‘Officers attended, along with paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.
‘At this time nine people are reported injured, these include two adults and seven children. We await further updates on their conditions.’
The driver of the vehicle stopped at the scene, the force added. There have been no arrests.
The Study is located less than a mile from where the Wimbledon Tournament is taking place.
Stephen Hammond, the Conservative MP for Wimbledon, described the crash as an ‘Extraordinarily distressing and tragic incident on the last day of term… there has actually been a major incident declared.
‘The air ambulance, the ambulance, the fire services, and the police are all in attendance.’
Speaking to BBC News, Mr Hammond added: ‘The size of the response tells you how serious the incident is and there are a number of casualties, and I understand that a number of those are being treated as critical.’
Fire services have also sent several services to the scene, with two engines and two rescue units outside the school.
Video from the scene shows a picnic display outside the school, with a table and yellow picnic blanket laid out on the grass.
Part of a nearby fence seems to be missing in the footage.
In a tweet earlier, the Met said: ‘Officers are responding to an incident at a primary school in Camp Road, Wimbledon.
‘We were called at 09:54hrs to reports that a car collided with a building at the school. Several people are being treated at the scene.
‘We will share further updates when we can.’
The London Ambulance Service has been contacted by Metro.co.uk for comment and, like the Met, said further updates would be available shortly.
Cllr Max Austin, who represents the Wimbledon Village ward, posted on Twitter: ‘Thank you to emergency services for attending. I hope all receiving treatment make a speedy recovery.’
People have been told to avoid the area to allow emergency services to access the scene.
Seven people, including two children, were hurt when a car struck a school building in London.
The Study Preparatory School on Camp Road in Wimbledon was struck by a Land Rover.
Girls between the ages of four and eleven can receive instruction at the £16,000 per year institution.
Several of the injured are in critical condition, a local MP has said.
Scotland Yard said in a statement: ‘Officers remain at the scene of a serious collision at a primary school in Wimbledon.
‘Police were called at 09:54hrs on Thursday July 6 to reports that a car collided with a building at the school in Camp Road.
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‘Officers attended, along with paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.
‘At this time nine people are reported injured, these include two adults and seven children. We await further updates on their conditions.’
The Land Rover outside the school this morning (Picture: Sky News)The Study, on Camp Road in Wimbledon, offers places for girls aged 4-11-years-old
The driver of the vehicle stopped at the scene, the force added. There have been no arrests.
The Study is located less than a mile from where the Wimbledon Tournament is taking place.
Stephen Hammond, the Conservative MP for Wimbledon, described the crash as an ‘Extraordinarily distressing and tragic incident on the last day of term… there has actually been a major incident declared.
‘The air ambulance, the ambulance, the fire services, and the police are all in attendance.’
Speaking to BBC News, Mr Hammond added: ‘The size of the response tells you how serious the incident is and there are a number of casualties, and I understand that a number of those are being treated as critical.’
The scene in Wimbledon this morning(Picture: PA)The area outside the school has been cordoned off by officers (Picture: PA)
Fire services have also sent several services to the scene, with two engines and two rescue units outside the school.
Video from the scene shows a picnic display outside the school, with a table and yellow picnic blanket laid out on the grass.
Part of a nearby fence seems to be missing in the footage.
In a tweet earlier, the Met said: ‘Officers are responding to an incident at a primary school in Camp Road, Wimbledon.
‘We were called at 09:54hrs to reports that a car collided with a building at the school. Several people are being treated at the scene.
‘We will share further updates when we can.’
The London Ambulance Service has been contacted by Metro.co.uk for comment and, like the Met, said further updates would be available shortly.
Cllr Max Austin, who represents the Wimbledon Village ward, posted on Twitter: ‘Thank you to emergency services for attending. I hope all receiving treatment make a speedy
In the almost thirty-year-old racist slaying of Black youngster Stephen Lawrence in southeast London, a new suspect has been identified.
The London Metropolitan Police Service (Met) named Matthew White, who passed away in 2021, in a statement on Monday that apologised for a “significant and regrettable error,” which meant that important information concerning White was not adequately followed up on.
The statement claimed that there were far too many “mistakes” in the initial investigation into the murder, which was made in reaction to a BBC report published on Monday detailing the Met’s improper handling of crucial enquiries.
Two men were sentenced to life in jail in 2012 for the murder, but “three or four other killers of Stephen Lawrence (are) at large,” according to the statement from the Met’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward.
Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Stephen’s mother, said in a statement to CNN that there should be “serious sanctions” against police officers who failed properly to investigate the murder of her son.
“Only when police officers lose their jobs can the public have confidence that failure and incompetence will not be tolerated and that change will happen,” she said.
Lawrence, an 18-year-old architecture student, was fatally stabbed at a bus stop by a gang of youths in April 1993. His friend, Duwayne Brooks, was also attacked but managed to escape.
Five teens were identified as being involved and were arrested, but none was successfully prosecuted at the time.
It took years of campaigning by Lawrence’s family until an inquest into his death in 1997 found that he was unlawfully killed in a “completely unprovoked racist attack by five white youths.”
A wave of protests forced the then-government to commission an inquiry into the killing in 1999.
It found that the initial police investigation into the murder had been “marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership.”
In their statement Monday, the police said they had previously misidentified a relative of White who held key information into the killing and apologized for the “significant and regrettable error.”
The statement went on to outline how White was arrested twice, in 2000 and 2013, and stated that on both occasions prosecutors said there was no realistic prospect of conviction.
In February 2020, White was spoken to again by the investigation team but there was “insufficient witness or forensic evidence to progress further,” the statement said. He died in August 2021, months before the police declared the murder investigation inactive and said there were no further lines of inquiry.
In May 2023, the Met commissioned a forensic review into the case.
Ward acknowledged in the Met’s statement Monday that “the impact of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence and attack on Duwayne Brooks, and subsequent inquiries, continues to be felt throughout policing.”
He added: “On the 30th anniversary of Stephen’s murder, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley apologized for our failings and I repeat that apology today.”
Baroness Lawrence said: “What is infuriating about this latest revelation is that the man who is said to have led the murderous attack on my son has evaded justice because of police failures and yet not a single police officer has faced or will ever face action.”
“It is too late for me and my family but at least I hope that victims in the future will not go through what we did,” she added.
Three guys have been detained for kidnapping while a teenage girl has vanished from a party 175 miles from her home.
After travelling from Barnsley to London for a party, police worry that Carmelle Hepi may be with a “older man.”
The adolescent left for London over the weekend to attend a party, and on Sunday night she disappeared.
Just after midnight, her frightened family notified South Yorkshire Police of her disappearance, and they forwarded the information to the Met Police.
Since then, three men, all aged in their 20s, have been arrested on suspicion of kidnap and remain in custody.
The teenager travelled from Barnsley Station, onto Sheffield and then down to London Kings Cross St Pancras, arriving shortly after 6pm on Saturday.
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Carmelle is believed to have attended a birthday party in Peckham with a ‘small gathering of teenagers’ at around 10pm.
Carmelle has been missing since Sunday (Picture: Met Police)Police have released CCTV of her entering Primark in Croydon (Picture: Met Police)She was in the store for 20 minutes before leaving (Picture: Met Police)
Around an hour later, the Met Police said she left with another group of people in a car.
She is also believed to have attended addresses in Croydon, Lewisham, and Purfleet in Essex.
Officers believe that she may be in the company of an older male.
Footage has also been released from the same day showing her entering the Primark in High Street, Croydon at around 4.45 pm, before leaving 20 minutes later.
It shows her in the pink and white jacket she may be wearing now.
Officers are said to be in regular contact with Carmelle’s family in Barnsley and have spoken to the people who were at the party.
The senior investigating officer is Detective Chief Inspector Chris Wood, who said: ‘Carmelle, I want you to know that you are not in any trouble whatsoever.
‘Our one and only focus is making sure that you are safe and well.
Officers fear she may be with an ‘older man’ they have said (Picture: Met Police)
‘Please call 999 and speak to us, or go to a police station, and we will get you back home safely.
‘Your family are desperately worried about you and while we’re supporting them as best we can, they need to know that you’re OK and to come home. They cannot rest until you’re back with them.
DCI Wood added: ‘My team are working round the clock, supported by our colleagues at South Yorkshire Police and local officers.
‘As well as the arrests made, we have spoken to multiple people, searched a number of addresses and officers are conducting extensive CCTV enquiries, along with various other leads we are pursuing.
‘Members of the public can help us locate Carmelle. If you have seen Carmelle, or you know her and have information about where she is or has been, it is imperative that you contact us.
‘It doesn’t matter if you’re a friend who has heard or seen something in passing – you won’t be in trouble. What matters is that you contact as you could have significant information to help us find a missing teenage girl.’
A pensioner has been detained on murder suspicion after a senior citizen was discovered dead in her home.
Last Sunday, June 25, the 77-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene in Ealing, west London, and a special post-mortem revealed that she had died from a severe head injury.
A 74-year-old man was detained by police who were called to the residence after receiving complaints of worries for the woman’s welfare.
He was transported to the hospital, according to Scotland Yard, because of health concerns. Both the victim and the suspect were well-known to one another.
Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command are carrying out further enquiries to establish the circumstances.
Detective Superintendent Rebecca Reeves said: ‘I know that local people will be shocked by this incident and additional foot patrols are being conducted to reassure the community.
Mizzy, a notorious TikTok prankster, posted a video in which he seems to break into yet another house, and has since utterly disregarded his court order.
The troublemaker, whose real name is Bacari-Bronze O’Garro, uploaded video of himself and some companions apparently breaking into a flat after discovering the door unlocked.
He laughs as he enters, assuring the audience that he might “go to prison.”
Two individuals on the balcony notice the group after they have peered into a few bedrooms, and a huge dog—possibly an Alsatian—then chases them away.
Mizzy, from Hackney, east London, was handed a criminal behaviour order last month which stated he must not directly or indirectly post videos on social media without the documented consent of those featured in the content.
A teenager who was fined and issued with a criminal behaviour order (CBO) after entering a stranger’s home in a TikTok video has been re-arrested two days after appearing in court.
Bacari-Bronze O’Garro, 18, known as Mizzy, appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday where he admitted one count of failing to comply with a community protection notice issued on May 11, 2022.
Latest London news
Mizzy talking to his followers before going into the flat (Picture: Twitter/@mizzythemenace)He says he could go to prison as a result of the prank (Picture: Twitter/@mizzythemenace)
It’s not clear whether the latest prank is staged or real, but the Met Police confirmed it’s looking into the incident, reports MailOnline.
The video starts with Mizzy standing in the hallway of a block of flats with two friends.
Speaking to the camera he says: ‘I am standing in the block with the guys, and I saw door that’s open and I know I could go to prison, and I know it’s stupid and I know this guy is going to say no.’
He manages to persuade his mates, including the person behind the camera, to join him, saying: ‘It’s for the memes, it’s for the bants, it’s for the guys.’
Mizzy is then seen looking into two bedrooms, including one with a cot in it, before walking into the living room.
Two adults, who are on a balcony, appear to spot the group and a their dog chases the group out of the flat.
In a second video, Mizzy is seen sprinting out of the door and down the corridor with the animal in pursuit. It’s captioned ‘my leg is mash’.
Two people with a dog on the balcony soon spot the group (Picture: Twitter/@mizzythemenace)The dog chases Mizzy out (Picture: Twitter/@mizzythemenace)
He has gained notoriety over the past few months for sharing a number of videos of himself trespassing into people’s homes, stealing a pensioner’s dog, jumping out on a passer-by and trashing a Primark store, among other pranks.
One film shows him apparently barging into a home where there are young children present.
His antics have gained him lots of followers but also sparked outrage, with many appalled by what he and his friends are doing.
He’s controversially been invited onto TV shows, including BBC’s Newsnight and TalkTV.
Conservative Party member Chris Rose criticised the BBC for allowing him on the late night news show.
Mizzy appeared on TalkTV but was kicked off set by the presenter (Picture: TalkTV)The teenager at Thames Magistrates’ Court where he appeared last month charged with failing to comply with a community protection notice (Picture: PA)
Writing on Twitter Mr Rose said: ‘Why is Mizzy on Newsnight? We should not reward or incentivise his illegal, anti-social behaviour. Idiotic decision by the BBC.’
TalkTV presenter Andrew Walker, meanwhile, threw Mizzy out while on air, angrily accusing the teenager of giving fellow guest, Reem Ibrahim, a ‘threatening look’.
Mizzy, however, denies any wrongdoing, telling MailOnline: ‘The whole time Reem Ibrahim was smiling, and I didn’t even do anything but give her eye contact while I was thinking about her question.’
Mizzy was handed the CBO at Thames Magistrates Court on May 24 after failing to comply with a community protection notice that he’d received days earlier.
Conditions of the notice included not trespassing on private property.
One of his friends in the latest video is Harle Jordean, 19, who hit headlines in 2011 for starting his own successful marble selling business while at primary school, turning over thousands of pounds.
Four individuals, including an 11-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy, have been discovered dead in a west London flat.
On Friday, June 16, just after 3 p.m., officers were summoned to the Staines Road, Bedfont, Hounslow house due to allegations of worries for the residents’ wellbeing.
They broke through the door and discovered the four victims had already passed away.
Scotland Yard said they are thought to be a man and woman, both in their 30s, an 11-year-old girl, and a boy aged three.
All four are thought to be related, but enquiries are under way in respect of formal identification and informing next of kin.
Chief Superintendent Sean Wilson, local policing commander in west London, said: ‘Our investigation is at a very early stage, and based on our initial enquiries, we are not currently seeking anybody else in connection with the incident.
Police have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident (Picture: Ben Cawthra/LNP)
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‘I know the shock and distress that this terrible incident will cause among the community in Hounslow and beyond. I can assure local people that specialist officers are working to establish exactly what happened and I will provide further information as soon as I can.
‘I am also aware that this incident will be particularly upsetting for children, and I ask people to please be responsible about what they post on social media, including not naming or speculating as to the names of those who’ve died.
‘There will be additional police officers in the area across the weekend, I urge anyone with information or concerns to speak with those officers.’
A young woman was supposed to get married this year, according to her family, when she was fatally stabbed in a north London flat.
At a home in Wembley, Tejaswini Kontham’s body was discovered yesterday morning.
According to her father, the 27-year-old had been pursuing a Master’s degree in the UK and was planning a summer visit to her family’s home in Hyderabad, India.
Despite their best attempts, Ms. Kontham tragically passed away at the scene after emergency personnel arrived at Neeld Crescent just before 10am.
Another woman, aged 28, believed to be her friend, also suffered knife injuries in the attack but are not believed to be life-threatening.
Ms Kontham’s father told a local TV channel in India that she had travelled to London three years ago and was coming back to Hyderabad for her wedding after the course ended this year.
He said ‘She said she will return after her studies were finished. She had resigned from her temporary job.’
Latest London news
A 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder in Harrow at around 6pm yesterday after a police hunt and remains in custody.
Two people, a 24-year-old man and a 23-year old woman, were also initially arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder.
The man has released on bail pending further enquiries to return to the police station in mid-July, while the woman was released with no further action.
Detective chief inspector Linda Bradley, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: ‘This has been a fast-moving investigation and I would like to thank the public for sharing our appeal for information.
‘I know that the shock of this incident will reverberate throughout the community and I would like to reassure the public that a dedicated team of detectives are working hard to establish exactly what happened.
‘Local officers will remain in the area over the coming days – please speak to them if you have any concerns.’
The Met Police also confirmed that a post-mortem examination was due to be carried out today at Northwick Park mortuary and the force is awaiting the findings.
The current VGMA Gospel Artiste of the Year, Piesie Esther, will make her first appearance in the United Kingdom to celebrate her recent success, organized by the Pan African Art Society, at the prestigious Dominion Centre in London.
This highly anticipated event promises to be a night of worship, uplifting music, and spiritual inspiration.
The gospel musician took to her Instagram account to announce the “good news” to her fans.
“LONDON GET READYYY!!!
“Good news for us all !! The ‘Waye me yie’ train is coming to your door step, my UK family!! ????
“Please if you are in the UK and Europe ???????? then kindly save this date Saturday 29th July 2023 I’m performing live at the Dominion center in London with other great supportive ministers from around the world.”
Piesie Esther has been making waves worldwide for two decades in the industry. With her current chart-topping hit song titled “Waye Me Yie,” a powerful worship song that resonates with listeners from all walks of life, she is poised to continue her remarkable endeavour of captivating her audiences.
The Pan African Art Society, known for its commitment to promoting African arts and culture, has curated an exceptional line-up for this gospel extravaganza. Speaking to Tru News Report, the CEO of the Pan African Art SocietyPK Ambrose stated, “The gospel event powerd by the Pan African Art Society aims to celebrate Piesie Esther’s 20 years in the industry and her accomplishments.” “We are honoured to have Piesie Esther to come to the UK to celebrate with her fans. Her hit song ‘Waye Me Yie’ is a testament to the positive impact gospel music can have on individuals and communities.”
Tickets for the concert are in high demand, with fans eagerly anticipating the opportunity to witness this remarkable gathering. The Pan African Art Society advises interested individuals to secure their tickets early to avoid disappointment.
Tickets are available on Shoobs and Eventbrite.
For an evening of soul-stirring melodies and heartfelt worship, mark your calendars for July 29, 2023, and join Piesie Esther at the Dominion Centre in London.
For further details about the event, visit the Pan African Art Society’s official website.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway said: ‘I do not underestimate the widespread upset, distress and concern that these videos caused.
‘Some people have referred to these as ‘prank’ videos, but I hope that this significant development demonstrates just how seriously we have been taking this investigation since this footage began circulating online.
‘A number of these videos were produced, impacting on many different people and our investigation remains ongoing as we seek to build a strong picture of both the activity featured in the footage and impact on the public.’
After a fight broke out in London, a guy was fatally stabbed.
Around 6.15 p.m. tonight, police were called to Reynolds Road in Hayes.
When police, personnel of the London Ambulance Service (LAS), and the London Air Ambulance (HEMS) arrived, they discovered a male who had sustained several stab wounds.
Sadly, despite receiving medical attention, the man passed away right there in the accident.
Officers said work is ongoing to trace his next of kin.
Police at the scene in Reynolds Road (Picture: UKNIP)
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There have been no arrests.
A Met Police spokesperson said: ‘A crime scene is in place at the location and urgent enquiries are ongoing.
‘A Section 60 Order granting police additional stop and search powers has been authorised, surrounding the area from 19:45hrs on 18 May until 10:45hrs on 19 May 2023.’
In London, a Tanzanian teenager, Zamana, has been honored with the Amal Clooney Women’s Empowerment Award for her remarkable work in promoting girls’ education.
The prestigious award is presented as part of the annual Prince’s Trust Awards, which celebrate the achievements of young individuals who have overcome adversity, improved their prospects, and made a positive impact in their communities.
Zamana, the recipient of the award, was acknowledged for her remarkable initiative in launching a campaign to empower and advocate for girls’ education in Tanzania.
Her efforts aim to support and encourage girls to remain enrolled in school, providing them with greater opportunities for personal growth and success. Zamana’s dedication to this cause has earned her well-deserved recognition and acclaim.
Through her “Allow Me To Study” campaign, Zamana focuses on helping schoolgirls and their parents understand the importance of completing their education.
“This award means so much to me. Every girl in my community has a dream for her future, just like girls all over the world. My dream is for more girls to stay in school,” Zamana said after receiving the award on Tuesday night in London’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
Following the ceremony, Zamana will later on Wednesday meet King Charles III during a reception at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the winners’ achievements.
Founded by the King, Prince’s Trust International supports young people across 18 countries through employment, education and enterprise programmes.
For one reason, Mubarak Wakaso traveled to London to cheer on his friend Andre Ayew and Nottingham Forest in their vital Premier League encounter against Chelsea.
As he arrived at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea FC, Wakaso could feel the tension in the air. The stadium was packed with fans from both sides, all eagerly anticipating the match.
Wakaso took his seat in the stands and waited for the game to begin. Although Ayew was on the bench, Wakaso knew that his presence would be felt by the team.
As the game progressed, Wakaso watched closely, cheering on Nottingham Forest with all his might. When Forest scored their first goal, Wakaso leaped to his feet, shouting with joy. And when Taiwo Awoniyi scored the second, sealing Forest’s draw and edging them closer to safety in the Premier League, Wakaso could hardly contain his excitement.
After the game, Wakaso and Ayew met up to chat. Ayew was grateful to his friend for making the journey to support him and the team. Wakaso was just happy to have been able to help his friend and to see him doing what he loved.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has been fined over £500 and received three penalty points on his driving license for exceeding the speed limit in London.
Last year, he was recorded driving at 25mph in a 20mph zone while traveling to his official residence at Lambeth Palace in his Volkswagen Golf.
The 67-year-old admitted the offense in writing and was sentenced at a private hearing in a magistrates’ court.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was prosecuted through the single justice procedure after being caught by a speed camera on October 2.
He pleaded guilty online and was ordered by the Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court to pay a £300 fine, a £120 victim surcharge, and £90 in legal costs. Additionally, three penalty points were added to his driving license.
The archbishop, who appeared at the House of Lords on the same day to criticize the government’s Illegal Migration Bill, was unaware that the case would be dealt with in court, according to a spokesperson from Lambeth Palace.
The spokesperson said: “He has tried to resolve this and pay the fine three times. He has all the paperwork to prove that he has tried to pay.
16 members of a London gang were convicted of participating in a £42 million money laundering conspiracy.
Between 2017 and 2019, members of the crew made hundreds of trips to the UAE to transport money out of the UK.
Investigators think that these were the proceeds of people trafficking and smuggling class A narcotics.
Around £1.5 million was seized, but flight analysis and cash declarations in Dubai suggested the group successfully transported far more, police said.
Just some of the cash seized (Picture: SWNS)
Back in 2019, the same gang tried to smuggle 17 migrants – including a pregnant woman and five children – into the UK hidden in the back of a van carrying tyres.
Dutch police intercepted the vehicle before it could reach a ferry at the Hook of Holland, the National Crime Agency said.
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After weeks of surveillance, communications and flight data analysis, NCA officers moved in to make arrests.
Charan Singh, from Hounslow, was among those detained in the raids across west London in November 2019.
Investigators were able to prove that the 44-year-old, who was formerly resident in the UAE, paid for flights to Dubai for other gang members.
The ringleader kept a ledger showing how much had been transported and when.
It showed that at least 58 trips to Dubai were made by Singh and couriers during 2017 alone.
Further arrests followed and those charged as part of the probe were prosecuted in two trials at Croydon Crown Court, starting this January.
Chris Hill, NCA senior investigating officer, said today: ‘This has been a long and complex investigation into an OCG involved in money laundering on a commercial scale and organised immigration crime.
‘Over a two-year period, working together with partners in the UK and abroad, NCA investigators were able to uncover the evidence to secure these convictions.
‘This case demonstrates the continued commitment by the NCA to protect the public and target the criminal networks involved in both people smuggling and money laundering.
‘We will continue to use the full range of tactics at our disposal to disrupt and dismantle them.’
Along with seven other defendants, Singh was found guilty of conspiring to remove criminal property – known as money laundering.
Valjeet Singh, 34, from Hounslow, was found guilty of conspiring to remove criminal property, four counts of removing criminal property, but not guilty of two separate counts of removing criminal property.
Swander Singh Dhal, 37, Hounslow, was found guilty of conspiring to remove criminal property, and conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law, but he was cleared of a separate count of conspiring to remove criminal property.
Jasbir Singh Kapoor, 35, Hayes, west London, was found guilty of two counts conspiring to remove criminal property, but not guilty of conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law.
Jasbir Singh Dhal, 32, from Southall, west London, was found guilty of conspiring to remove criminal property.
Diljan Singh Malhotra, 47, from Uxbridge, west London, was cleared of two counts of conspiring to remove criminal property, but found guilty of conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law.
Mircea Denes, 45, previously of Northolt was found guilty of conspiring to facilitate a breach of immigration law in his absence having absconded.
Sundar Vengadassalm, 48, from Southall, was found guilty of removing criminal property, but cleared of five separate counts of removing criminal property.
All 16 defendants are due to be sentenced at the same court from September this year.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II marked his 73rd birthday in London whiles attending the coronation of King Charles III with his wife Lady Julia.
The celebration of Otumfuo’s birthday since his ascension to the throne in 1999 has often entailed lavish ceremonies back home or wherever he finds himself on May 6.
The 73rd birthday dinner was held at a plush location in London with guests including former president John Agyekum Kufuor and president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as well other sub chiefs.
A video sighted by GhanaWeb showed the Asantehene and his wife Lady Julia dancing to Amakye Dede’s ‘Iron Boy’ track surrounded by invited guests on the dance floor.
The Asantehene is clad in suit with a bow tie whiles Lady Julia is wearing a grey-like gown.
President Akufo-Addo in his speech eulogized the Asantehene for his role especially in promoting peace and stability in Ghana before proposing a toast in his name.
Otumfuo and his wife arrived in the UK last week and met King Charles at a private meeting before joining the coronation events on May 6 clad in Kente.
Akufo-Addo attended the coronation in his capacity as president of Ghana along with First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
Nana Asantehene is the 16th Asantehene, enstooled on 26 April 1999. He was born on May 6, 1950 making him 73 years this year.
His stool name, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is in direct succession to the 17th-century founder of the Ashanti Empire, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s 73rd birthday celebration held in London was attended by both President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and former President John Agyekum Kufuor.
The party was held at a plush location in London, United Kingdom; where the Asantehene has been for the past few days attending the coronation of King Charles II.
Videos sighted by GhanaWeb showed president Akufo-Addo eulogizing the Asantehene for his role especially in promoting peace and stability in Ghana before proposing a toast in his name.
The Asantehene and his wife Lady Julia are also captured in another video dancing to Amakye Dede’s Iron Boy surrounded by invited guests on the dance floor.
Otumfuo and his wife arrived in the UK last week and met King Charles at a private meeting before joining the coronation events on May 6 clad in Kente.
Akufo-Addo attended the coronation in his capacity as president of Ghana along with First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo.
Nana Asantehene is the 16th Asantehene, enstooled on 26 April 1999. He was born on May 6, 1950 making him 73 years this year.
His stool name, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II is in direct succession to the 17th-century founder of the Ashanti Empire, Otumfuo Osei Tutu I.
He is currently the Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and one of the most revered traditional authorities in the country.
A man has been accused with trying to kill two elderly men who were set on fire after leaving mosques in the English cities of Birmingham and London.
In separate occurrences in Birmingham on Monday and Ealing, west London, on February 27, Mohammed Abbkar, 28, is said to have sprayed a liquid on the men before setting it ablaze.
Abbkr, a resident of Edgbaston in Birmingham, central England, made an appearance in court on Thursday morning, according to a statement from the West Midlands police. According to PA Media, he made no attempt to enter a plea to any charge and was therefore remanded in detention.
The man who was attacked in Birmingham on Monday was taken to hospital with serious injuries, which are not thought to be life-threatening.
“It’s believed the man, who was walking home from Dudley Road mosque, was approached by a man who spoke to him briefly before spraying him with an unknown substance and then his jacket was set alight, causing burns to his face,” West Midlands police said.
Locals in the area are being asked by police to hand over CCTV, doorbell footage or other video that could help the investigation.
Last month, an 82-year-old man suffered severe burns to his face and arms after he was attacked near an Islamic center in Ealing.
Following a 16-year-arrest old’s on suspicion of murder, a girl, 14, has been identified as the victim of a fire in an east London flat block.
According to today’s statement from the Metropolitan Police, a murder investigation has been opened, and arson is being suspected as the cause of the fire.
On Thursday around 5:28 p.m., reports of a fire along Tollgate Road in Beckton prompted the response of police, paramedics, an air ambulance, and six fire engines.
Five people at the address were injured as the blaze tore through the three-storey building, sending billowing black smoke in the air, the force said.
Footage showed flames shooting out of the windows on the second floor, with witnesses claiming residents leapt from their windows to escape the raging fire.
A manager of a Lidl opposite the flat block told MyLondon: ‘I saw people jumping out the windows from the balcony at the top, people were running around everywhere.
‘They had a mattress there and they were trying to jump on it but some people didn’t get to the mattress.’
London Fire Brigade said the fire ‘destroyed’ a stairwell running between the ground floor and second floor of the residential block. Half the second floor was damaged.
Scene and safety cordons remain in place around the building, its windows now gutted and blackened.
Chief Superintendent Simon Crick who leads the North East Command Unit said: ‘My thoughts at this time are with the victim and their family and friends. Incidents such as these send shockwaves through our communities and I don’t underestimate the impact this will have in the local area and beyond.
‘Your officers will be on patrol in the immediate vicinity over the Easter Weekend, please talk to them if you have any concerns.’
Detective Chief Inspector Joanna Yorke of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command added: ‘We are at the very early stages of our investigation and are still keen to hear from anyone who has information but has not yet spoken with police.
‘I understand the effect an incident of this kind will have on the local community and I reiterate Chief Superintendent Crick’s advice that anyone with concerns should speak with local officers.
‘I would like to thank residents in the immediate area for their cooperation while my team conduct their enquiries.
A fire at an apartment building in east London resulted in the death of a woman and five other injuries.
Just before 5.30 p.m., emergency services were summoned to the site in Tollgate Road, Beckton, and a man has now been taken into custody on suspicion of murder.
Several rescue services and fire engines arrived at the area quickly.
Five further individuals were taken to the hospital, according to the police, and one person died as a result of the incident.
It ripped through the first and second floors of the flats, with residents quickly evacuated.
Some witnesses said residents were jumping from their windows the escape the flames.
A spokesperson from the London Fire Brigade said: ‘Firefighters have been called to a flat fire on Tollgate Road in Beckton.
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Fire crews at the scene in east London (Picture: UKNIP)
‘The first floor and second floors of the residential block are alight.
‘The staircase from the first to the second floor is also alight.
‘The Brigade was called at 5.24pm.
‘Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters from East Ham, Plaistow, Barking and surrounding fire stations are at the scene.
‘The cause of the fire is not known at this time.’
The mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, expressed her ‘deepest condolences’ to loved ones of the person who died.
She tweeted: ‘We are deeply saddened by the news that there has been one fatality already from the fire that broke out in flats in Beckton.
‘Our deepest condolences to loved ones now in mourning.’
A Met spokesperson said: ‘Police, LAS and LFB are currently at the scene dealing with the fire.
‘It is believed that there has been one female fatality and number of others injured.
‘No further details at this stage. Enquiries into the cause of the fire are ongoing.
‘One male has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the incident and enquiries are ongoing.
‘A road closure is in place on Tollgate Road and restriction are in place on Bradley Stone Road and Valiant Way.’
As part of a summertime catch-up program, vaccinations will be provided to every child between the ages of one and eleven.
The virus was discovered in sewage in north and east London during routine inspections, prompting health officials to issue a warning that there had been “some transmission” in the city the previous year.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) declared that booster shots will be provided to primary school students because vaccination rates are still too low in several boroughs.
Polio, which was officially eradicated in the country in 2003, can cause paralysis in rare cases and be life-threatening.
Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA said: ‘While there are early signs of reduced spread of the poliovirus in London, we need to continue to improve uptake of childhood vaccines in all communities.
‘Until we reach every last child, we cannot be sure that we will not see a case of paralysis.
‘Even a single case of paralysis from polio would be a tragedy as it is completely preventable.
‘Only by improving vaccination coverage across all communities can we ensure resilience against future disease threats.’
Children will be vaccinated at primary school or community clinics, and there will be a focus on communities with the lowest levels of uptake, the UKHSA said.
Figures show 87.6% of children in London are receiving all their polio vaccinations by the time they turn one, compared to 92.1% in England as a whole.
Uptake for the pre-school booster for children aged five is even lower at 69.9% in the city compared to 83.4% in England.
The campaign comes after a total of 135 poliovirus type 2 isolates were identified in 30 sewage samples collected in London between February 8 and November 8 last year.
Bola Tinubu, the incoming president of Nigeria, has traveled to France and the UK to “relax” and organize the transition process before his inauguration on May 29, 2023.
The president-elect left the country on Tuesday, according to a statement released on Wednesday by Mr. Tinubu’s spokeswoman, Tunde Rahman.
The president-elect, according to Mr. Rahman, would later perform the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
“The president-elect decided to take a break after the hectic campaign and election season to rest in Paris and London, preparatory to going to Saudi Arabia for Umrah (Lesser Hajj) and the Ramadan fasting that begins Thursday,” Mr Rahman said.
He added that Mr Tinubu is expected back in the country “soon”.
The president-elect’s frequent travels overseas continue to fuel speculation about his health.
He made several unannounced trips to the UK and France before campaigns started in 2022.
He is also facing legal battles over his victory in last month’s presidential election.
A man has appeared in court on charges that he castrated other males and posted the video on his “eunuch maker” website.
The removal of his victims’ penises and testicles is among the drastic body changes that Marius Gustavson and eight other people are accused of doing on their victims.
The group would record the operations and publish them to Gustavson’s eunuch maker website, where users would pay to view the treatments, London Magistrates Court was informed on Wednesday.
Gustavson, who is originally from Norway, is said to have been the ringleader of the wide-ranging conspiracy, which involved up to 29 offences involving extreme body modifications, the removal and trade of body parts, and the uploading of illicit videos.
The Metropolitan Police said the charges relate to 13 alleged victims.
Raids were carried out in London, Scotland and South Wales on Wednesday morning and a total of nine men later appeared in courts in central London and Wales over the alleged six-year plot, which is said to have brought in some £200,000 in income.
Gustavson, from Tottenham, north London, is charged with conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent between January 1 2016 and January 1 last year, along with five counts of causing GBH to five alleged victims.
The GBH charges include the removal of a man’s penis, the clamping of another’s testicles and freezing of a leg which required amputation.
He is further charged with acquiring or possessing criminal property, making an indecent image of a child and distributing an indecent image of a child.
The court heard Gustavson, who appeared in the dock in a wheelchair, has had his own leg, penis and nipple removed.
He appeared alongside Peter Wates, 65, from Croydon, in south London, who is charged with conspiracy to cause GBH with intent.
Wates is alleged to have been involved with nine of the 29 incidents while Romanian national Ion Ciucur, 28, who works in a hotel in Gretna Green, Scotland, is said to have been involved in two.
Ciucur, who appeared separately, faces the same count of conspiracy to cause GBH and all three men were remanded in custody ahead of their next appearance at the Old Bailey on April 19.
Three other men – David Carruthers, 60, Janus Atkin, 37, and Ashley Williams, 31 – who are all from Newport, in Gwent, South Wales, appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court, charged with being involved in the same conspiracy.
They were granted bail and will appear at the Old Bailey on the same date for a plea hearing.
Nathan Arnold, 47, from South Kensington, west London, Damien Byrnes, 35, from Tottenham, north London, and Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 22, from Epsom, Surrey, also appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday each charged with a single offence of causing GBH with intent.
Arnold is alleged to have removed Gustavson’s nipple, Byrnes is accused of removing his penis and Crimi-Appleby is accused of freezing his leg requiring amputation.
They were each granted bail and will also appear at the Old Bailey with their co-defendants next month.
None of them have entered pleas to any of the charges.
The group is said to have been part of a society in which people willingly undergo extreme body modification.
The practice is linked to a subculture where men become ‘nullos’, short for genital nullification, by having their penis and testicles removed.
The Met said in a statement: ‘We encourage anyone who has had similar experiences to seek medical advice from their local sexual health clinic or GP.’
On Monday 20th March 2023 Ghana’s Attorney-General & Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, was present at the Justice Ministers’ Conference in London.
He led a high-level delegation from Ghana to London in the United Kingdom to attend the Justice Ministers’ Conference.
The delegation included Mr. Alfred Tuah Yeboah, Deputy Attorney-General & Deputy Minister for Justice, Mrs. Helen A.A. Ziwu, the Solicitor-General and Mrs. Yvonne Atakora Obuobisa, the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The Justice Ministers’ Conference which took place at Lancaster House in London saw several Justice Ministers and Attorney-Generals from over 43 countries with Ghana’s Attorney-General & Minister for Justice representing the entire African continent as the only African country present at the high-level Conference.
The Conference which was convened under the auspices of the Governments of the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Netherlands focused on supporting the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigations into the Russian-led war in Ukraine.
The Conference of Justice Ministers was aimed at affording State parties the opportunity to provide the requisite support to the ICC to facilitate its investigation into the situation in Iraq.
The Conference focused on areas including support for witnesses; operationalising ICC filed presence in Ukraine; support for effective use of digital evidence in trials before the Court; support in terms of collection of forensic evidence and psychological support for victims of sex and gender-based violent crimes and crimes against children.
The following distinguished persons gave addresses at the Conference; Dominic Raab, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor; Didier Reynders, the European Commissioner for Justice; Denys Maliuska, the Minister for Justice of Ukraine; Andriy Kostin, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and Karim Khan, the Prosecutor of the ICC.
Speaking at the Conference, Godfred Yeboah Dame stressed that owing to Ghana’s track record as a firm adherent to human rights, Ghana had no difficulty supporting the work of the ICC, especially relating to the investigation of war crimes committed in Ukraine.
With Ghana being one of the first countries to sign and ratify the Rome Statutes as far back as 1999, the AG affirmed Ghana’s recognition and support for the work of the ICC in line with her cherished tradition and culture in the protection of international human rights and the work of international courts set up with the object of consolidating such values.
Mr. Dame, as part of his remarks at the Conference, noted that in January 2017, when a number of member states of the African Union voted to pass a non-binding resolution for a mass withdrawal from the ICC, Ghana was not one of those nations and accordingly, Ghana was willing to support the taking of measures to protect global peace and security.
On Ghana’s position on the situation in Ukraine, Mr Dame highlighted that Ghana has unequivocally and consistently stressed that Russia’s actions in Ukraine constitute an unjustified violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine accordingly justifying Ghana voting in favour of a UN Resolution on 23rd February 2023 which demanded the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian military forces from the territory of Ukraine and called for a cessation of hostilities.
He noted that Ghana is of the fervent belief that a pathway to the resolution of the war is through honest and sincere dialogue between the warring parties. However, the course of recent events suggests that a peaceful resolution through dialogue will be illusional.
Ghana’s Attorney-General, Mr. Dame, highlighted that the ICC has a responsibility to identify suspects, gather evidence and prosecute perpetrators.
He stated that Ghana supports the investigative work of the Prosecutor in the situation in Ukraine in line with its accountability mandate to ensure that individuals found culpable of egregious crimes in violation of the Rome Statutes are investigated and brought to book under international law.
On the role Ghana could play in supporting the ICC, Mr. Dame said that the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice in Ghana has recently moved to fill a lacuna in Ghana’s laws by preparing an International Criminal Court Bill to enable courts in Ghana to try offences recognized under the Rome Statute, and to provide a legal framework within which the ICC can prosecute cases in circumstances where the Ghanaian courts are unable to do so. Currently, the said Bill is undergoing stakeholder consultations as part of the processes for its enactment and will soon be laid before Parliament.
He also noted that in view of the peculiar nature of investigations anticipated to be conducted in the Ukraine situation, there will be the need to provide witnesses with adequate protective and security measures and assist them in obtaining medical, psychological and other appropriate assistance.
Thus, Mr. Dame noted that the repertoire of services offered by the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service places it in a position to contribute effectively to the work of the ICC. He explained that the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit is the agency within the Ghana Police Service specifically trained to offer support for victims.
He noted that its output makes it the best of such units within the Police Service of any African nation and that personnel of the Unit have the requisite training to assist the ICC within the countries of victims if needed.
He also stated that Ghana can offer relocation assistance to the ICC for victims and witnesses. He said that Ghana’s track record as a nation speaks to an established capacity to provide accommodation in-state, identity protection and a home for refugees.
He noted further that Ghana is currently in negotiations with the ICC to sign a relocation agreement which would allow the country to provide the necessary support to victims and witnesses in the manner stated already.
Ghana’s Attorney-General & Minister for Justice, Mr. Godfred Dame, as part of the visit to the UK also had series of other bilateral and trilateral meetings including meetings with the UK Attorney-General and the Ukrainian Prosecutor General; the Lord Chief Justice of the United Kingdom at the Royal Courts of Justice; Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon; the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Justice of the United Kingdom amongst others.
Ghana’s Second Lady, Samira Bawumia, has obtained another feat in life. She has acquired a Bachelor of Laws degree from University of London
Taking to Facebook, to announce the achievement Mrs Bawumia noted that: “ A few years ago, with support and encouragement from family and friends, I took advantage of the Distance (Online) Law Degree Program offered by the University of London.
“Thankfully, I had the honour of graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree, last week, in spite of the numerous challenges Covid-19 presented,” she added.
According to the University of London, the Bachelor of Laws degree is an internationally recognised award that one can study flexibly, anywhere in the world.
It allows an individual to develop a critical awareness of the common law legal tradition and apply problem-solving skills to a range of legal and non-legal settings.
The Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of London adds to the number of degrees she has so far. Following her admission to Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), she studied BA. Social Science in Law and Sociology and Technology.
Also, she was awarded the Best Student in Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA),where she had her postgraduate studies.
Mrs Bawumia in the Facebook post further thanked her family and friends who motivated her to pursue the Law programme.
“It has been an incredible journey of learning while juggling work, family, and official duties.
“Let’s be inspired to pursue our dreams irrespective of the challenges we are faced with,” Samira Bawumia added.
Arsenal, who are vying for the Premier League championship, swept the London Football Awards with an amazing four wins.
As a result of his crucial contribution to the Gunners’ establishment of a five-point lead at the top of the English top flight, Martin Odegaard was named the Premier League Player of the Year.
The 24-year-old Norwegian captain won the prestigious award ahead of teammate Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane of Tottenham, and prolific Fulham scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Odegaard said: “I just want to say thank you so much for this award, thanks to everyone who voted for me.
“[There were] a lot of great candidates and I think within the team [Arsenal] there were a lot of worthy winners. I just want to share it with the whole team.
“It’s great to see the club being recognised here tonight with all the awards.
“I think it shows how far we’ve come as a club and what we’re doing here is really special so I’m happy to be a part of that.
“I’m sure there’s more to come so I’m very excited for the future as well.”
Saka took home the Young Player of the Year gong for the second season running in a category also featuring his colleagues William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli.
In further dominance for the North Londoners, Mikel Arteta was recognised as the Manager of the Year and Aaron Ramsdale scooped the goalkeeper’s prize.
— London Football Awards (@TheLFAOfficial) March 13, 2023
Chelsea striker Sam Kerr was another to claim back-to-back wins after seeing off competition from Arsenal duo Beth Mead and Kim Little to be named Women’s Super League Player of the Year.
Australian star Kerr, 29, said: “It feels amazing.
“It has been a big year for women’s football so it is an amazing honour to win it, especially in a year where in England the Lionesses have done so well and women’s football has been on a big trajectory.
“Chelsea have given to me as much I have given to them, it has been a crazy journey since I have been here.
“From the moment I signed it felt different from anything I have ever experienced and since I have been here I have loved it and it has been a great journey.”
The Blues completed a WSL double with 21-year-old Lauren James recognised as the Young Player of the Year.
There was also a special prize for the Lionesses, who were handed the inaugural Power of Football Award.
Captain Leah Williamson proudly accepted the honour after leading her country to Euro 2022 glory last summer — England’s first major tournament success since 1966.
West Ham stalwart Mark Noble was also recognised with the Outstanding Contribution to London Football accolade.
The Canning Town-born Hammers legend called time on an extraordinary 18-year career with the Irons at the end of the last season.
All money raised on the night by the London Football Awards goes to support the Willow Foundation, which helps provide special days for seriously ill young adults.
In front of his mother, a 10-year-old child was sexually molested in central London.
At Leicester Square station, the child was climbing the stairs with his mother when a stranger molested him and then fled.
His frightened mother tried to catch the culprit after chasing him through the busy station, but she was unable, according to the police.
British Transport Police have now made a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to in relation to the incident, which took place on February 16 at about 4.30 p.m.
A statement from the force said: ‘Do you recognise this man?
‘Officers investigating a sexual assault at Leicester Square Underground station are releasing this image in connection.
‘At around 4.30pm on Thursday, February 16, a 10-year-old boy was walking up a set of stairs at the station with his family when a man sexually assaulted him and ran away.
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‘The victim’s mum chased the man through the station, but did not catch him.
‘Officers believe the man in the CCTV image may have information which could help their investigation.
‘If you recognise him, or have any information, please contact BTP.’
Concerns about the fate of a lime-green hexagonal fence have a hamlet in uproar.
Toby Garrett, 37, has been told to demolish his vibrant work of art in front of his Sedbury, Forest of Dean home close to Chepstow.
He had failed to obtain approval for the fence as well as an adjacent greenhouse with a dome-shaped roof.
Despite no complaints from the nearby community, the artist has nonetheless been forced to take down both sculptures as they ‘affect on visual amenity’.
Toby said: ‘People on my street have sent me messages saying they are gutted because it cheers Sedbury up.
‘I phoned the council and was told art is not allowed without planning permission and I have to take it down within two weeks.
‘I make art to make people happy. I’m sorry it doesn’t make everyone smile.’
Toby’s greenhouse is based on London’s famous Gherkin building.
The 37-year-old could apply for retrospective planning permission to save the structures, but fears it will be a lost cause.
Meanwhile, hundreds of locals in the Forest of Dean have rallied behind Toby and supported the artist’s battle to save the fence and greenhouse.
A petition against the planning decision has now amassed 400 signatures.
It reads: ‘A local man toby who has done some amazing art sculptures in his garden, which all local residents love!
Toby’s battle to save his fence has been backed by 400 people.
‘The council has now decided he has to take it all down.
‘Which has upset a lot of people as this man has spent all his time and effort to brighten the village up.’
A spokesman for Forest of Dean Council said it was investigating the planning dispute.
He said: ‘Forest of Dean District Council is aware of the matter regarding a planning dispute at Buttington Road, Sedbury and the case is currently under investigation.
‘As the investigation is ongoing, we will not be making any further comment at this time.’
In a home in south-east London, three people—a woman, two boys—were discovered dead.
On Mayfield Road in Belvedere, around 11:50 a.m. yesterday, the bodies of a 47-year-old woman and two youngsters, seven and nine years old, were found.
As post-mortem examinations are scheduled, the cause of their deaths has not been made public.
Detectives are not looking for anyone in connection to the deaths.
No one is being sought in connection to the deaths (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Next of kin have all been notified.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: ‘Detectives are investigating following the deaths of three people at an address in south London.
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‘Police were called at 11.50am on Thursday, 9 March to concerns for the welfare of occupants at an address on Mayfield Road in Belvedere.
‘Officers and London Ambulance Service attended. At the scene, a 47-year-old woman and two boys, aged nine and seven, were found deceased inside the property.’
‘At this early stage, detectives are not actively seeking anyone else in connection with the investigation,’ the force added.
Financial crimes, according to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, have grown to be a major worry for governments all over the world over the past 30 years as they pose serious risks to the growth and stability of national economies.
In order to deal with this threat, he stated it is necessary to create reliable financial compliance systems and maintain strong enforcement of the systems.
Mr Akufo-Addo said these when he was speaking at EBII Africa Investments Risk and Compliance (IRC) Summit in London on Saturday July 31.
He further expressed concerns about how developed economies treat Africa during trade and investment agreements.
He noted that the rules of engagement in trade and investment that exist among the developed economies change whenever Africa becomes the focus of the trade agreements.
He told the gathering that “We have all agreed that for Africa to be able to transform ourselves and become the epitome of the economic empowerment and self-reliance, she needs to have the wherewithal to be able to protect and promote the resources at a her disposal hence the need to build a robust financial compliance systems and ensure strict enforcement of the systems.”
The reason for this is that, he said “financial crimes have over the past 30 years become a major concern for governments around the globe as it represents a significant threats to development and stability of the economies of countries around the world.
“I’m happy that the theme of this nature which is a regular feature of deliberations for investors in Europe, America and Asia should have Africa as its focus.
“ I am saying so because Africa, which since ancient time, has been defined by outsiders as the continent that always provides something new, something strange to surprise or excite the rest of the world , or the place for venture or the place to be exploited.
“It is the place where the normal rules and guide behavior elsewhere can be and are suspended. Once it is the continent of Africa, things must necessarily be somewhat different. From as far back as we can think, we will see that the world has always dealt with Africa in a manner that is different from how other parts of the world are regarded and threated .
“The rules that have been drawn up to guide the rest of the world in trade , investment , ethics, environment, governance which are accepted as part of normal conventions have thrown out or changed when the area of operation moves from Oxford to Cape Coast.
“If the African continent were not seen as a place where regular rules can be and are regularly flouted, I dare say we will not be gathered here today to grapple with the subject of this conference.
“Top of the problems, of course, is that there is so little trade between African countries and so little intra-investment among African nations . Thus when we talk about investment in Africa reference is instinctively to non-Africans and a decade ago when China made a significant entry to Africa investment on our continent was limited to western companies in the countries . It is not surprising therefore that the western counties carried into the investment arena the same attitude they had towards African counties as their former colonies.”
He however stated that “We do not ask that Africa be treated specially as fragile and to be handled with care.”
A tricycle-mounted “fold-out health clinic,” the first of its kind in the UK, will be used by doctors to treat homeless people as they cycle around London.
The “Find and Treat” team at University College London Hospital aims to screen thousands of the capital’s most at-risk, homeless, and high-risk individuals each year for diseases like tuberculosis, HIV,and COVID-19.
As a result of their inability to access a GP because of a lack of documentation, many homeless people are forced to go to A&E for treatment or endure lifelong illnesses that are incapacitating.
Popular Ghanaian actress Jackie Appiah has hopped on the trending Tiktok challenge, which involves choosing between two options written on a piece of paper – whatever is on the paper is the treatment you receive.
Sharing her own version of the whole challenge, Jackie Appiah was lucky enough to choose a breakfast in London over one in Accra.
Fortunately for her, the person she was playing the challenge with fulfilled his promise of flying her to London just for an English breakfast.
Aside from the English breakfast, Jackie also received a red Goyard bag.
As we all know, if it’s not a known designer brand, Jackie Appiah will never put it on because she is clad in stylist apparel in almost all her pictures on her socials.
Once again, the A-list actress Ghanaian has given Ghanaians a topic to discuss concerning her flamboyant lifestyle.
While some social media users are wishing and praying just to enjoy like her in life – Others are also admonishing her for her opulence on social media.
Nothwithdnaidng the insults from her critics, Jackie Appiah will still share another video about her flamboyant life outside of social media.
In describing Labour’s goal to achieve the highest sustained growth in the G7, Sir Keir Starmer stated that immigration is not “the answer to all of our issues.”
The Labour leader admitted that there was a short-term need for migrant labor due to a lack of workers, but he emphasized that the UK’s “skills deficit” needed to be fixed instead of importing workers from outside.
He promised that the growth strategy of his party would raise living standards “all across the country” in a speech he gave on Monday in the City of London.
Addressing business leaders, Sir Keir said Britain needs “growth from the grassroots, where wealth is created everywhere, by everyone, for everyone. Where we take off the blinkers to the potential of an active government that sets the direction and where we come together in a partnership, raise our collective sights beyond the day-to-day, deliver the long-term solutions our country needs”.
He continued: “The model for growth that we’re absolutely focused on is a model that increases living standards everywhere.”
He dismissed a model where wealth is created in London and the South East and redistributed to the rest of the UK.
“I want that productivity, those good jobs, everywhere across the country,” he said.
“It can’t be just London and Manchester and Leeds, it’s got to be everywhere.”
The Labour leader also emphasised that stability is crucial in attracting investment to the UK.
“We have heard loud and clear about the need for certainty – that basic truth: chaos has a cost – that investors need a clear framework with policies that are always fully costed, fiscal rules, sound and followed rigorously, constraints accepted, institutions respected and not bypassed.
“A rock of economic stability. Our entire mission for growth is built on that, and don’t doubt it for a second.
“But honestly, isn’t that the least we should expect? I think so. Britain needs certainty, yes, but also change.”
Asked about businesses’ pleas to allow more migrant workers to come to the UK to fill labour shortages, Sir Keir said: “We recognise the short-term problem and we are not going to be anti-business or anti-growth or anti-farming about this and allow short-term problems to create long-term problems.
“But we do have to get ourselves off the idea that migration is the answer to all of our problems.
“We’ve had a skills problem in this country for decades.
“We want to fix the fundamentals. I’m still struck by how many children leave school without the skills they are actually going to need for the jobs they are likely to be doing, the lives they are likely to be leading.”
A visa scheme for industries hit by Labour shortfalls would be “more likely” than granting young people from the European Union access, Sir Keir indicated.
A paper detailing Labour’s plan for meeting and measuring its progress on its growth mission was published before the speech.
The nine-page document says a future Labour government “will create stronger links between our evidence-led, points-based immigration system and our skills bodies to make sure we have the skilled workforce we need”.
The paper also says that having the highest sustained growth in the G7 would mean income growing faster, people having more savings, jobs in new and growing industries, along with vibrant high streets.
In his speech, Sir Keir said the entire UK needs improved relations with the EU, “not just Northern Ireland”, and “a fixed Brexit deal” is required.
“A reset relationship with the EU, with the whole of the country, not just Northern Ireland,” he said.
Labour’s plan on growth, he added, is “the only show in town”.
After the speech, Sir Keir and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves hosted a roundtable meeting of business leaders, including Dragons’ Den star Deborah Meaden and Professor Jagjit Chadha of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.
On March 15, Budget Day, they will go on strike to protest pensions and working conditions.
Aslef union members in other Underground positions, such as Test Train and Engineering train drivers and those in management grades, also decided to strike and would do so on the same day.
Tube train drivers voted by 99% in favour of strike action, on a turnout of 77%, the union confirmed.
Finn Brennan, Aslef organiser, stressed that the large turnouts shows members are ‘not prepared to put up any longer with the threats to their working conditions and pensions’.
‘Our members are not prepared to pay the price for the government’s failure to properly fund London’s public transport system,’ he said.
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‘Cuts to safety training have already been forced through and management is open that they plan to remove all current working agreements under the guise of “modernisation” and “flexibility” and to replace the agreed attendance and discipline policies.
‘Proposals to slash pension benefits are due to be announced in the next week.
‘We are always prepared to discuss and negotiate on changes, but our members want an unequivocal commitment from TfL that management will not continue to force through detrimental changes without agreement.
‘Unless they are prepared to work with us, and accept that changes have to come by agreement, and bring real benefits to staff, rather than just cuts and cost savings, this will be only the first day of action in a protracted dispute.’
The fresh 24-hour strike on the Underground marks a dramatic escalation in the row over pensions and TfL’s bid to make efficiency savings by changing working practices and not replacing departing staff.
Everyone from railway workers and teachers to nurses have taken part in strikes over the last few months.
Around 100,000 civil servants in the Public and Commercial Services union are also planning to strike on Budget day in a long running dispute over jobs, pay and pensions.
‘This 24-year-old female was cabin crew on a flight from Albania and was on the tarmac when she appeared to faint and was given basic first aid,’ she said.
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’10 minutes later there was no pulse and CPR commenced. Paramedics treated her and confirmed she had passed away.’
According to the British Heart Foundation, SADS is ‘when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest, but the cause of the cardiac arrest cannot be found’.
It is known to be rare, affecting around 500 people in Britain every year.
Greta’s colleagues at Air Albania described her as ‘a passionate professional, an excellent coworker, and a great friend to all of us’.
A statement from the airline at the time of her death said: ‘On December 21, after disembarking the passengers from our flight to London, one of our cabin crew Greta Dyrmishi had a heart attack.
‘Even after all medical assistance was provided immediately, we still lost her.
‘She was taken to the hospital in London, and procedures are being followed.
‘From the first moments, Air Albania contacted her family, and we continue to be close to them in these difficult moments.’
Three individuals, including two minors, were hospitalised with stab wounds following a street altercation in London.
The two 18-year-olds who were discovered on Walthamstow’s Stocksfield Road have also been detained on suspicion of attempting to kill someone, according to the Met Police.
At after 6 o’clock today, the London Ambulance Service dispatched officers to the adjoining Brandon Road.
A man in his thirties was found with stab injuries, and was taken to hospital.
His condition is not currently known.
Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for the area, posted on a local Facebook page about ‘serious violence that has taken place in Walthamstow today’, calling for speculation to end.
She wrote: ‘Please think carefully that if it was your family or friends involved how you would feel to read such commentary and speculation, as well as about the impact of misinformation and rumour on our local community.’
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According to the Sun, she also shared a police update saying: ‘Given the proximity of the various victims, the narrow window of time between incidents, and other recent violence, a Section 60 CJPOA was authorised at 18:30 until 06:30 tomorrow morning, covering Waltham Forest Borough.’
