Author Archives: OP King

The SNP’s Westminster leader has ruled himself out of the contest to be the party’s next deputy leader. Ian Blackford, the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber said he will not be running to succeed Angus Robertson. In a post on Twitter, he said he wanted to concentrate on his constituency and his role asContinue reading “Ian Blackford rules out running for SNP deputy leader”

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionVladimir Bukovsky was vocal critic of the Soviet regime A Russian dissident accused of making and possessing thousands of indecent images of children is too unwell to stand trial, a judge has ruled. Vladimir Bukovsky, 75, denies 11 charges in relation to child image offences and his trial at Cambridge Crown CourtContinue reading “Vladimir Bukovsky: Russian dissident too ill to stand trial”

Image copyrightKATRINA CARTLIDGEImage captionKatrina Cartlidge said she was “mortified” by the treatment of her father Chris Cartlidge A man with Parkinson’s disease was told to leave a Halfords store for acting suspiciously by “walking funny”. Chris Cartlidge, 51, was ejected from the shop in Trent Vale, Stoke-on-Trent, after his symptoms caused his leg to stiffenContinue reading “Parkinson’s sufferer ejected from Halfords ‘for funny walk’”

Image copyrightHUNTERS WEST HAMPSTEADImage captionThe Met Police said it received no reports of injuries The front of a house has collapsed “from the roof to basement level”. Firefighters were called to West Hampstead, north-west London, at 12:06 GMT and requested the help of the police to cordon off Sumatra Road. Ten people were evacuated fromContinue reading “West Hampstead house collapses ‘from roof to basement’”

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES The Queen is backing efforts to reduce single-use plastics on royal estates. Glass bottles will replace plastic equivalents in meetings and on-site cafes while non-biodegradable food packaging and plastic straws are also set to be phased out. The new measures will affect Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. AContinue reading “Queen backs plan to cut plastic use on royal estates”

Media captionGovernment minister promotes a policy he can’t use himself The government minister in charge of persuading more couples to share their parental leave says he is not allowed to take up the scheme. Business Minister Andrew Griffiths, who is due to become a dad in April, said that as an “office holder rather thanContinue reading “No shared leave for shared leave minister”

Barack and Michelle Obama have attended the unveiling of their official portraits at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. Mr Obama said his portrait by Kehinde Wiley, who is known for his Old Master-style depiction of African-Americans, was “pretty sharp”. “Wow!” said Mrs Obama of her portrait by Amy Sherald, another black artist, whoseContinue reading “Barack and Michelle Obama’s official portraits unveiled”

Image copyrightPA AND FACEBOOKImage captionRichard Cousins, Emma Bowden, Will Cousins, Gareth Morgan, Heather Bowden, Ed Cousins (clockwise from top left) all died A family from the UK who were killed in a seaplane crash near Sydney died from a combination of multiple injuries and drowning, an inquest heard. Richard Cousins, 58, sons, Edward, 23 andContinue reading “Sydney seaplane: UK family members ‘drowned in crash’”

Image copyrightSPLImage captionIf true, the snake would have had to have eaten at least 36,000 bank notes A Nigerian sales clerk has been suspended after she told auditors that a snake had eaten 36m naira. That’s the equivalent of $100,000 or £72,250. The clerk, Philomena Chieshe, was working at an office for the Nigerian examinationContinue reading “Nigerian snake ate millions of naira, clerk says”

Image copyrightKIJIJIImage captionInvasive marbled crayfish are sold on Canadian online adverts for as little as C$0.50 (£0.28) A new species of all-female crayfish able to reproduce without males is multiplying rapidly and invading ecosystems across the world. A new study found that the marbled crayfish is descended from a single female with a mutation thatContinue reading “New crayfish that doesn’t need males to mate becomes all-powerful”