U.K News

Greek Transport Minister Resigns Over Train Crash; 36 Dead

Published

2 years ago

2023-03-01

TEMPE, Greece — Rescuers combed the burned-out wreckage of two trains that collided in northern Greece, killing at least 36 people and crumpling several carriages into twisted steel knots.

Kostas Karamanlis, the Transport Minister, resigned, saying it was his “duty” to do so “as a basic indication of respect for the memory of the people who died so unfairly.”

The cause of the crash near the Greek Vale of Tempe, a river valley about 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens, was not immediately clear, but the stationmaster was arrested Wednesday in the nearby city of Larissa. His identity has yet to be revealed by the police. Two more people have been arrested for questioning.

It’s unclear how fast the passenger and freight train were traveling when they collided just before midnight Tuesday, but survivors said the impact threw several passengers through train cars’ windows. According to state broadcaster ERT, rescuers discovered some victims’ bodies 30-40 meters (100-130 feet) from the impact site.

THE GREEK TRAIN CRASH WAS LIKE AN EXPLOSION, SAY PASSENGERS.

A teen survivor who did not want to be identified told reporters that he felt sudden braking and saw sparks just before the crash, and then there was a sudden stop.

“Our carriage did not derail, but the ones ahead of us did and were smashed,” he said, visibly shaken. He used a bag to break his car window, the fourth, and escape.

Stefanos Gogakos, who was in a rear carriage, described the crash as “explosive,” He saw flames at the front of the train.

“The windows’ glass shattered and fell on top of us,” he told ERT. “With a jolt, my head hit the carriage’s roof. Because of the carriage’s smoke, some people began climbing through the windows. The doors were closed, but after a few minutes, train personnel opened them, and we could exit.”

Several cars derailed, and at least one caught fire.

“Temperatures reached 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,372 Fahrenheit), making it even more difficult to identify the people in it,” said Vassilis Varthakoyiannis, a fire service spokesperson.

WRECKAGE COMPLICATES RESCUE Efforts For Greeks

On Wednesday, rescuers began moving large pieces of the trains with cranes and other heavy machinery, revealing more bodies and dismembered remains.

“There were many large pieces of steel,” said Vassilis Polyzos, a local who claimed to be one of the first on the scene. “Both passenger and freight trains were destroyed.”

Rescuer Lazaros Sarianidis told ERT that crews were working “very carefully” to disentangle steel, sheet metal, and other materials that had become entangled due to the crash. “It will take a long time,” Sarianidis predicted.

According to Greece’s fire department, 76 people were hospitalized, six in critical condition.

More than 200 people who were unharmed or had minor injuries were transported by bus to Thessaloniki, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north. As they arrived, police took their names to locate anyone missing.

According to Greek Railroad Workers Union President Yannis Nitsas, eight rail employees were killed in the crash, including the two drivers of the freight train and the two drivers of the passenger train.

FROM CARNIVAL TO MOURNING IN GREECE

According to officials, 350 people aboard the Greek passenger train were students returning from Greece’s raucous Carnival. This year marked the first time since the pandemic began in 2020 that the festival, which precedes Lent, was celebrated in its entirety.

From Wednesday, the government declared three days of national mourning, and flags flew at half-staff outside all European Commission buildings in Brussels.

During a visit to the accident site, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that the government must assist the injured and identify the deceased.

“I can guarantee you one thing: We will investigate the causes of this tragedy and do everything in our power to ensure that something like this never happens again,” Mitsotakis said.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou interrupted her official visit to Moldova to visit the scene, where she laid flowers beside the wreckage.

In a message sent to the president of the Greek bishops conference on his behalf by the Vatican’s secretary of state, Pope Francis expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased.

The pope “sends the assurance of his prayers to everyone affected by this tragedy,” according to the message.

SOURCE – (AP)

U.K News

London Hit With Heavy Snow as Temperatures Plummet

Published

2 days ago

2024-11-19

Geoff Brown

London, England, has been gripped by an Arctic freeze, with temperatures dipping well below zero, snow forcing trains to stop, and over 200 schools closing in and across the UK.

Commuters faced traffic mayhem as Braemar in Aberdeenshire recorded the coldest temperature in the UK this early in the season since 1998, at -11.2C (12.2F).

Today, the Met Office issued three yellow weather warnings for snow and ice across the Midlands and North of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The UK Health Security Agency issued the season’s first amber cold weather health advisory, warning that circumstances could be hazardous to vulnerable people.

Poor weather hampered rail travel, with no trains running between Nottingham and Worksop or between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales.

A couple walks on the snow-covered ground at Pavillion Gardens in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Northern services in Yorkshire between Bradford and Huddersfield, Hebden Bridge to Halifax, and Halifax to Hull were all disrupted while flooding at Ulverston in Cumbria caused delays between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster.

Around 130 Welsh schools closed in Wrexham, Powys, Denbighshire, and Flintshire, with closures also reported in Birmingham, Nottinghamshire, and Derbyshire.

Nearly 5 inches (12 cm) of snow fell at Watnall in Nottinghamshire, with 3 inches (8 cm) at Cranwell in Lincolnshire and 2 inches (5 cm) at Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, Wales.

The Met Office issued warnings that vehicles might become trapped, power outages could occur, remote communities could be shut off, and falling on ice could cause injury.

England has a yellow warning until 11 a.m., while Scotland has a warning until 10 a.m. tomorrow. Another warning for Northern Ireland expired at 10 a.m.

The UK Health Security Agency issued an amber cold weather health notice for the East and North of England, the Midlands, Yorkshire, and the Humber.

Yellow health alerts went into effect for the South East, South West, and London at 8 a.m. today and will run until 6 p.m. on Saturday.

National Rail warned that the cold weather would impair several routes on northern rail services until at least 2 p.m. today.

Merseyrail issued a notice informing passengers that due to the possibility of snow and ice covering tracks, the first train on each line in North West England would run without passengers to allow conditions to be examined.

National Highways also issued a strong amber weather advisory for snow, indicating that the M1 in Leeds and Sheffield, the M56 in Manchester, junction 39 of the M6, and junctions 21-23 of the M62 may see interruption.

WEATHER WARNING 1: The Met Office snow warning in Northern Ireland terminated at 10 a.m. today.

WEATHER WARNING 2: A separate snow and ice warning for Northern England until 11 a.m. today.

WEATHER WARNING 3: Scotland’s snow and ice warning is live until 10 a.m. tomorrow.

The Met Office, which characterized the weather as ‘the first taste of winter,’ said heavy snow will cause problems in England, with Derbyshire being the most vulnerable.

According to Dan Suri, the Met Office’s chief meteorologist, a low-pressure system will move eastward on Monday night.

The related frontal system, which marks the border between cold air in the north and milder weather in the south, may deliver disruptive snow to certain locations between Monday evening and Tuesday morning.

Dr. Agostinho Sousa of the UK Health Security Agency stated, “This is the first amber Cold Weather Health Alert of the season, but we can expect more as winter approaches. It is critical to check in on vulnerable friends, family, and neighbors to ensure they are well prepared for the onset of cold weather.”

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U.K News

Windsor Castle Robbed While Royal Family Slept

Published

3 days ago

2024-11-19

Geoff Brown

UK police report two men broke into the Windsor Castle estate, home to Prince William and Catherine and their three children and stole two vehicles.

According to the Sun newspaper, the robbers broke into a farm building on the Windsor estate and stole a black Isuzu pick-up truck and a red quad bike stashed in a barn.

The Prince and Princess of Wales reportedly arrived at their estate home during the nighttime burglary.

Thames Valley Police stated the individuals ran to the Old Windsor/Datchet area, but no arrests have been made.

“Offenders entered a farm building and stole vehicles,” the police added. An investigation is underway regarding the incident.

There have been previous security incidents at Windsor. On Christmas Day in 2021, an intruder was apprehended on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Jaswant Singh Chail, who was equipped with a crossbow, received a nine-year prison sentence.

The Windsor estate, located west of London, spans 15,800 acres and contains functioning farms, conservation areas, Windsor Great Park, and well-known royal attractions, including Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle received 1.4 million visitors last year, making it the UK’s most popular royal tourist site.

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U.K News

Britain’s Conservative Party Elects Kemi Badenoch as Leader

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-11-02

Ana Wong

Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as party leader

U.K. Conservatives pick Kemi Badenoch as their party's new leader

Britain’s Conservative Party elected outspoken MP Kemi Badenoch as its new leader on Saturday, making her the first woman of color to lead a major British political party.

She has promised to give the right-of-center Tories “renewal” by advocating for a smaller state and rejecting identity politics.

The new leader faces a daunting challenge in restoring the party’s reputation after years of division, scandal, and economic turbulence, hammering Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s policies on key issues such as the economy and immigration and returning the Conservatives to power in the 2029 election.

“The task that stands before us is tough but simple,” Kemi Badenoch said in a victory address to a room full of Conservative legislators, staff, and journalists in London. She stated that the party’s role was to hold the Labour administration accountable while developing commitments and a government strategy.

Addressing the party’s electoral defeat, she stated, “We have to be honest — honest about the fact that we made mistakes, honest about the fact that we let standards slip.”

“The time has come to tell the truth, to stand up for our principles, to plan for our future, to reset our politics and our thinking, and to give our party, and our country, the new start that they deserve,” according to Badenoch.

Kemi Badenoch was Born in London

Kemi Badenoch, a business secretary in Sunak’s cabinet, was born in London to Nigerian parents and grew up in West Africa.

The former software engineer positions herself as a disruptor, advocating for a low-tax, free-market economy and promising to “rewire, reboot, and reprogram” the British state. Like her adversary Jenrick, she has opposed multiculturalism and advocated for decreased immigration, but unlike him, she has not asked that Britain abandon the European Convention on Human Rights.

Kemi Badenoch, a self-proclaimed hater of wokeness, opposes identity politics, gender-neutral toilets, and government initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in the United Kingdom. During the leadership race, she was chastised for claiming that “not all cultures are equally valid” and implying that maternity pay was excessive.

Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London, predicted that under Badenoch, the Conservative Party would “swing to the right both in terms of its economic and social policies.”

He foretold that Badenoch will follow “what you might call the boats, boilers and bathrooms strategy …. focusing very much on the trans issue, the immigration issue and skepticism about progress towards net zero.”

Conservative Party Becoming More Diverse

While the Conservative Party is unrepresentative of the country as a whole, with a decreasing membership of 132,000 mostly affluent, elderly white men, its higher echelons have become significantly more diverse.

Badenoch is the Tories’ fourth female leader, following Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, and Liz Truss, who became prime ministers.

She is the second Conservative leader of color, following Sunak, and the first with African heritage. The center-left Labour Party has a more diversified membership, but its leaders have always been white men.

In a more than three-month leadership contest, Conservative MPs narrowed the field from six to two in a series of votes before presenting the last two to a vote of the party’s membership.

Both finalists were from the party’s right-wing and claimed they could reclaim votes from Reform U.K., the hard-right, anti-immigrant group led by populist leader Nigel Farage that has eroded Conservative support.

However, the party lost many votes to the winning party, Labour, and the centrist Liberal Democrats, and some Conservatives are concerned that tacking right may move the party away from popular sentiment.

Kier Starmer’s Labor government has had a difficult first few months in power, plagued by unfavorable headlines, fiscal woes, and a sinking approval rating.

However, Bale stated that the historical record implies Badenoch’s chances of leading the Conservatives back to power in 2029 are slim.

“It’s quite unusual for someone to take over when a party gets very badly beaten and manage to lead it to election victory,” according to him. “However, Keir Starmer did just that after 2019. So there are records to break.”

Source: AP