Tag: united kingdom

Cricket chiefs BAN transgender players born as men from international women’s cricket to ‘protect the safety’ of female players

The ICC has banned transgender players born as men from playing international women’s cricket.

In a statement released on Tuesday morning, the governing body concluded that they had made the decision following a nine-month consultation process to protect the safety of female players.

The statement read: ‘The new policy is based on the following principles (in order of priority), protection of the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness and inclusion, and this means any Male to Female participants who have been through any form of male puberty will not be eligible to participate in the international women’s game regardless of any surgery or gender reassignment treatment they may have undertaken.

‘The review, which was led by the ICC Medical Advisory Committee chaired by Dr Peter Harcourt, relates solely to gender eligibility for international women’s cricket, whilst gender eligibility at domestic level is a matter for each individual Member Board, which may be impacted by local legislation.

‘The regulations will be reviewed within two years.’

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Cops swamped with 1,805 UFO reports in 3 years – but won’t publish ‘sightings’

A police force has been swamped with 1,805 reports of UFOs and aliens in the last three years, but won’t make the details public after deeming collating them for publication is too costly.

Since 2020, West Yorkshire Police had the staggering number of cases where ‘UFO’, ‘alien’, ‘UAP’ or ‘spaceship’ has appeared on their logs. It works out at 56 a month or more 13 per week, or nearly two per day. The county – which includes Leeds and Bradford – has always been a hotbed for alleged extraterrestrial sightings.

A Freedom of Information request was submitted for details of the reports from January 2020 to August 2023 to be released. But the force said it would cost too much money to do so. It did give one example, which read: “Male caller reports seeing four flashing lights hovering above his property in the street before a female was beamed into the sky.”

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Britain’s new two-way ‘ultra’ speed cameras are already under attack as vigilante chops one down in Cornwall

The latest in speed camera technology to hit British roads is already under attack as one has been pictured having been chopped down by a vigilante.

A Jenoptik VECTOR-SR unit – dubbed the new ‘ultra’ speed camera – has been photographed with its pole sliced almost in two on New Row in Longdowns, Cornwall, with the incident reportedly taking place overnight.

It is the fourth in a string of recent attacks that have seen speed cameras hacked down across this part of Cornwall.

The incident comes after it was announced earlier this week that Greater Manchester Police has installed over 100 of the devices across the city in its crackdown on speeding and other motoring offences. 

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Drunks WON’T be able to get into driverless cars after a boozy evening: Ministers dash hopes of the futuristic vehicles acting as chauffeurs following a heavy night

Driverless cars promise motorists hands-off journeys, which many have hoped might allow for a couple more pints at the pub before travelling home.

But those planning to use their autonomous vehicle as a personal taxi service should beware, with the government announcing legislation to make sure it is treated like drink driving.

Being over the limit, going on your phone or having a nap behind the wheel of the futuristic cars will be illegal, according to documents published alongside the Automated Vehicles Bill which was announced in this week’s King’s Speech.

The Law Commission has already drawn up a draft proposal for legislation around the legal use of driverless cars and vehicles on Britain’s roads. 

Motorists must ‘remain in a fit state to drive’ while their car is on the road, and there must be a ‘user in charge’ who is able to take control if the self-driving system requests for them to do so.

Drivers will still need to be sat in the front seat and have a driving licence to operate their vehicles, and failing to do so could open them up to prosecution.

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Laughing gas becomes illegal from TODAY with repeat offenders facing up to two years in jail – but campaigners say ban is ‘completely disproportionate’ and will place more pressure on justice system

Nitrous oxide is illegal from today with repeat offenders risking prison – raising the ire of campaigners who call the ban ‘completely disproportionate’. 

The substance, also known as NOS or hippy crack, is now a controlled Class C drug, meaning that dealers could face up to 14 years in jail.

Users face an unlimited fine, community service, a caution – which would appear on their criminal record – or a possible two-year sentence for serious habitual users. 

Nitrous oxide is the second most commonly used drug among 16 to 24-year-olds in England after cannabis, and has been blamed for fuelling littering and anti-social behaviour. 

This summer it was reported that there were 13 tonnes canisters of the drug collected after the Notting Hill carnival. 

Inhaling the gas brings about short-term feelings of lightheadedness, fits of giggles and hallucinations.  

Heavy, regular abuse risks significant health risks including anaemia and in more severe cases, nerve damage or paralysis. 

It has been identified as having potentially fatal consequences on the UK’s roads from incidents of drug driving. 

Nitrous oxide has legitimate uses and it will remain lawful for catering purposes and in maternity wards when used as pain relief during labour.

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Covid inquiry hears Matt Hancock wanted to decide who lived and died

Former health secretary Matt Hancock wanted to decide “who should live and die” if the NHS was overwhelmed, the Covid inquiry has heard.

The revelation came to light in evidence presented by Sir Simon Stevens, the former NHS England chief.

In his witness statement, he said Mr Hancock thought he, not doctors or the public, should decide who to prioritise if hospitals became overwhelmed.

Sir Simon said: “Fortunately this horrible dilemma never crystallised.”

He told the inquiry: “The secretary of state for health and social care took the position that in this situation he – rather than, say, the medical profession or the public – should ultimately decide who should live and who should die.”

He added: “I certainly wanted to discourage the idea that an individual secretary of state, other than in the most exceptional circumstances, should be deciding how care would be provided.

“I felt we were well-served by the medical profession, in consultation with patients to the greatest extent possible, in making those decisions.”

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Gunpowder, Treason & Plot

“Remember, remember, the fifth of November, the gunpowder treason and plot…” But what was the plot? Who committed the treason? And where did they get the gunpowder?

It’s a very famous story, Guy Fawkes and his band of Catholics planting barrels of gunpowder under the houses of Parliament in an effort to blow up the building and assassinate the king.

…but did you know that the manufacture of gunpowder was a state monopoly in 1605? And that, in all the investigations following the exposure of the plot, no one ever ascertained how the conspirators had managed to obtain 36 barrels of gun powder?

…or that there are multiple conflicting accounts of how/when/where Fawkes was actually arrested?

…or that contemporary figures wrote that the government knew of the alleged plot months before November 5th?

…or that alleged ringleader Robert Catesby, according to his servant, met with James’ spymaster Sir Robert Cecil at least three separate times in 1605?

…or that this plot was politically very convenient for a “monumentally unpopular” king James I?

These are just some of the contradictions present in the official story, which should remind us that false flags and narrative construction are not new tools, they have centuries of history behind them.

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‘No money would ever tempt me to kill my XL Bully’: Furious dog owners blast government £200 ‘puppy scrappage scheme’ to euthanise their pets – as charities face an impossible task to rehome animals before December 31 deadline

Livid Bully XL owners are refusing to accept a £200 Government handout to euthanise their soon-to-be-banned pets, branding the plan ‘absolutely disgusting’.

The breed will be banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act by the end of the year, following a spate of recent fatal and horrific attacks. 

Owners can apply to have their pets exempt from the crackdown – which means they would have to pay £92.40 for a certificate and the dog would need to be microchipped and neutered, among other rules.

The second option would be to have their dogs put down, with the government offering £200 in compensation to these owners. 

But news of the measures this week triggered fury from Bully owners, who branded the move a ‘puppy scrappage scheme’. 

Fuming Bully XL owner Ashley Oxley from Brighton told MailOnline: ‘No money would ever tempt me into putting my girl down she’s fine the way she is and that’s how it’s staying can’t believe in this generation this kind of brutality is even allowed.’ 

Mother-of-three Dani Harland added: ‘This breaks my heart. I own an XL Bully and I would never ever even dream of putting her down. I find this absolutely disgusting that they [the government] are even offering to pay people money to have their dogs put to sleep.’

The outcry comes as animal charities today warned they face an impossible task of trying to rehome hundreds of Bully XLs stuck in rescue centres before the December 31 deadline, after which it will become illegal to rehome, breed, or sell the dogs.

Mel Kermode, operations manager of Freshfields Animal Rescue in Liverpool, said: ‘It is a desperate race against time to try and save these dogs. The clock is very much ticking,’ 

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Man in his 40s is arrested after ‘dressing up as Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi for Halloween and posting it on Facebook’

A man in his 40s has been arrested after allegedly dressing up as Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi for Halloween and posting it on Facebook. 

Pictures posted by David Wootton show him wearing an Arabic-style headdress, with the slogan ‘I love Ariana Grande’ on his T-shirt, and carrying a rucksack with ‘Boom’ and ‘TNT’ written on the front.

The disturbing Halloween costume which was captioned ‘bet I get kicked out of the party’ caused fury on social media. 

North Yorkshire Police confirmed the man arrested had been released on conditional police bail to allow for further enquiries to be carried out. 

Abedi killed 22 people – some of them children – as well as himself when he detonated his device in the foyer of Manchester Arena at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in May 2017. 

In a statement, the force said: ‘North Yorkshire Police can confirm that a man has been arrested after the force received complaints about a man wearing an offensive costume on social media, depicting murderer, Salman Abedi who killed 22 people at Manchester Arena.

‘The man, who is aged in his 40s, was arrested on 1 November on suspicion of a number of offences including using a public communication network to send offensive messages.’

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UK Police Arrest Women Who Attended Gaza Protest Wearing Paraglider-Print Shirts

London police have made the latest in a series of arrests related to the repeated Gaza and Hamas protests in recent weeks, now arresting two women on suspicion of terrorism offences for wearing prints of paragliders stuck to their clothing at a rally.

Two women, aged 29 and 44 years old surrendered themselves to police and were arrested “on suspicion of inviting support for a proscribed organisation” under the Terrorism Act after the Metropolitan Police published their images in an appeal for information. The pair are being held at a police station, the force said.

Images of four people had been published by police on the 27th relating to “Pro-Palestine” protests on October 14th and 21st, with three of those being women wearing print-outs of paragliders taped to their clothes. The fourth was a man carrying a “I fully support Hamas” placard.

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