Hoang Viet

Uncategorized

Aug 15 2023

Darren Kent: Game Of Thrones and EastEnders actor dies aged 36 | Ents & Arts News

Actor, writer and director Darren Kent – who appeared in Game of Thrones and EastEnders – has died aged 36.

Appearing in Game Of Thrones in 2014, he played a grieving father – Goatherd – taking his dead child to see Daenerys Targaryen, Mother Of Dragons, played by Emilia Clarke.

He also had TV roles in EastEnders, TV mini-series Les Misérables and recent ITV drama Malpractice, as well as a brief appearance in the film Dungeons And Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, released earlier this year.

Kent’s death was announced by his agent, Carey Dodd Associates, which wrote on Facebook: “It is with deep sadness we have to tell you that our dear friend and client Darren Kent passed away peacefully on Friday.

“His parents and best friend by his side. Our thoughts and love are with his family in this difficult time.

“Darren was not only a talented actor, director and writer, he was truly one of the kindest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

“It has been a privilege and pleasure to have been a part of his journey. RIP my friend.”

No cause of death was given.

Industry friends paid tribute online, including writer-director Jane Gull. Posting on X, formerly Twitter, she said: “What a privilege it was to be your friend and to work together on so many projects over the years.

“Life won’t be the same without you. I will miss you so much. RIP darling Darren Kent xxxx.”

Read more:
Euphoria star dies aged 25 – a week after burying his father
Exorcist and Game Of Thrones star Max von Sydow dies

Makers of the film Love Without Walls wrote: “With heavy hearts, we share the heartbreaking news of our dear friend @darrenpaulkent’s passing.

“An acting luminary whose creativity inspired and left an indelible mark on and off-screen. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this devastating time.”

Screenwriter Ben Trebilcook wrote: “Love and thoughts to the friends and family of our talented, caring soul of a friend, Darren Kent, who sadly passed away on Friday.

“Darren, an Essex writer, actor and director, directed our award winning short You Know Me. A true character who was Always creating and forever upbeat and encouraging, Darren will be sorely missed.”

Gogglebox star Sandi Bogle, who appeared with the actor in a 2019 short film, wrote: “My heart is broken my long time amazing, wonderful great friend Darren Kent has passed away my condolences to his family May he rest in peace he is one of Gods (sic) beautiful Angels he will be truly missed.”

Born in Essex, with a strong London accent, Kent trained at Italia Conti drama school, graduating in 2007.

His first film role was in 2008 horror Mirrors, starring Kiefer Sutherland.

Kent won best actor at the Van D’or Awards in 2012 for his portrayal of the character Danny, in the short film Sunnyboy.

Away from acting, Kent also directed an episode of the 2021 BBC monologue series The Break, showcasing up-and-coming UK writers, and short film You Know Me.

His last performance was in the short film Birds Sorrow.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 15 2023

Former British Cycling doctor Richard Freeman banned for four years for breaking anti-doping rules | UK News

Former British Cycling and Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman has been banned from all sport for four years for violating anti-doping rules.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) said he had 30 sachets of a testosterone gel delivered to the National Cycling Centre in Manchester in May 2011 and lied about it.

The watchdog said the National Anti-Doping Panel decision to ban him was made in July.

Freeman was in his role at British Cycling and what was Team Sky when Bradley Wiggins became Britain’s first Tour de France champion in 2012, a time when British cycling soared to the top of the cycling world.

The Testogel Freeman ordered is prescription-only medication and banned under anti-doping rules as it contains testosterone.

Freeman told UKAD he ordered the gel for a “non-rider” member of British Cycling staff, but refused to name them due to patient confidentiality.

He said he had asked them several times to waive their confidentiality but they refused. However, UKAD said this was false, as was his claim the gel had been returned to the supplier.

In 2021, Freeman was also struck off the medical register after a tribunal ruled he knew or believed the gel was intended for a rider to improve their performance.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 15 2023

Grocery price inflation falls for fifth month in a row, retail data suggests | Business News

Grocery price inflation has eased for the fifth month in a row – as the cost of some staples come down.

Closely watched data from Kantar Worldpanel, which tracks supermarket sales and bills, found that while the expense of a food shop is still higher than last year, the pace of price rises has been slowing down this summer.

Its researchers reported a grocery price inflation rate of 12.7% in the four weeks to 6 August – a 2.2 percentage point drop from the month before.

Kantar said a fall in the cost of some staples was a factor. It said shoppers paid £1.50 for four pints of milk last month, down from £1.69 in March.

The average cost of a litre of sunflower oil is now said to be £2.19 – 22 pence less than in the spring.

Kantar’s head of retail and consumer insight, Fraser McKevitt, said: “The latest slowdown in price rises is the second sharpest monthly fall since we started monitoring grocery inflation in this way back in 2008.

“Prices are still up year on year across every supermarket shelf, but consumers will have been relieved to see the cost of some staple goods starting to edge down compared with earlier in 2023.”

He said the average increase in households’ weekly grocery shop is £5.13, when compared with last year.

Researchers also found that the recent wet weather across much of the UK had an impact on supermarkets’ figures in July.

Sales of ice cream and Halloumi were down around 30% – while purchases of soft drinks fell by nearly a fifth.

Read more from business:
B&Q apologises for ‘White Supremacy’ books in product listing
UK employers set to boost wages by 5%
‘Critical’ Bank of England payments system fails

However sales of soup – traditionally seen as a winter warmer product – were up 16% year-on-year.

Kantar said the gloomy weather was also likely to have contributed to a drop in footfall, which was down for the first time in 18 months as people made 320,000 fewer trips to supermarkets compared to a year ago.

Overall take-home grocery sales rose by 6.5% in the four weeks to 6 August, down from 10.4% in the previous period.

But researchers said other supermarkets may soon benefit from the collapse of Wilko, which went into administration last week.

The chain’s 400 stores remain open – for now – but its long-term future is in doubt.

“Wilko is a popular choice for many shoppers with 7.6 million households visiting its stores to buy groceries in the last year,” said Mr McKevitt.

He added: “Wilko’s rivals will be keeping a close eye on its fortunes in the coming days and weeks as they look to draw some of its shoppers through their doors.”

Kantar’s research comes ahead of new official inflation figures, which are due to be released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday morning.

Last month it reported a bigger-than-expected drop in the rate to 7.9% in the year up to June.

The Bank of England then decided to raise interest rates for the 14th time in a row to 5.25% as part of attempts to bring inflation back down to its target of 2%.

Inflation is expected to fall again this week, although experts believe it is unlikely the Bank will achieve its target this year.

The Bank of England’s chief economist, Huw Pill, also said last week that food prices may never fall back to the level they were before the war in Ukraine began.

Separate figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) earlier this month also suggested food price inflation has been falling in recent months, with the cost of some staples coming down.

But it warned the trend may not continue smoothly this year because there were “dark clouds on the horizon”.

The BRC said this included the potential impact on prices of Russia’s decision to pull out of a deal to allow the safe export of grain from Ukraine, as well as a ban by the Indian government on the export of some types of rice.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 15 2023

Dame Priti Patel takes aim at government’s ‘alarming and staggering lack of clarity’ over plans to house asylum seekers at Essex RAF base | Politics News

Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel has accused her former department of being “evasive” and “secretive” over how long it plans to use a former RAF base to house asylum seekers.

In a letter to her successor Suella Braverman and the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, earlier on Monday, Dame Priti wrote that the “lack of clarity” over how long the government plans to house asylum seekers at the former base in Wethersfield, Essex, “has been alarming and staggering”.

The site near Dame Priti’s Witham constituency has been earmarked to house 1,700 asylum seekers by the autumn as part of plans to reduce spending on hotels, with the first residents having arrived in July.

RAF Wethersfield is one of a number of former military sites earmarked for housing asylum seekers, alongside the Bibby Stockholm barge which was evacuated on Friday after legionella bacteria was found in the water supply.

In the letter posted to X, formerly Twitter, the former home secretary said that when it was announced on 29 March that the site would be used for asylum seekers, the length of time it would be used was not stated.

She said reports the site would need to be used for five years to achieve value for money for the taxpayer was “concerning”, and said “no clarity has been provided” in subsequent discussions between Home Office officials and local partners.

Citing three written parliamentary questions on the topic submitted back in June, she said the failure to provide direct answers “gives the impressions the Home Office is being evasive” and “suggests that the government is being secretive about its intentions”.

She added: “Clear answers now need to be provided by the Home Office and the government must be transparent rather than evasive. The lack of clarity has been alarming and staggering.”

Read more:
Asylum seeker removed from Bibby Stockholm
Sunak still has ‘confidence’ in home secretary
Asylum seekers ‘should be moved back on the barge’

A Home Office spokesman said: “Delivering accommodation on surplus military sites will provide cheaper and more orderly, suitable accommodation for those arriving in small boats whilst helping to reduce the use of hotels.

“These accommodation sites will house asylum seekers in basic, safe and secure accommodation as they await a decision on their claim.

“In the case of Wethersfield, the Home Office has obtained planning permission to use the site for 12 months.

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

“We understand the concerns of local communities and will work closely with councils and key partners to manage the impact of using these sites, including liaising with local police to make sure appropriate arrangements are in place.”

The department said it intended to reply to Dame Priti’s letter to the home secretary “in due course”.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 14 2023

Wales’s health minister Eluned Morgan hits back at Steve Barclay’s offer to treat patients in England | UK News

A Welsh government minister has accused the UK’s health secretary of “a cheap political stunt” after he suggested patients in Scotland and Wales could be treated in England to reduce waiting lists.

Steve Barclay said he was “open to requests” for patients who had been waiting a long time for treatment.

Health is a devolved matter and comes under the responsibility of the Labour government in Wales and SNP in Scotland.

Wales’s health minister Eluned Morgan said the offer from her English counterpart seemed “very odd”.

Recent figures showed 5% of patients on waiting lists in England had been waiting more than a year at the end of June.

The Welsh government said it did not have official figures on the number of individual patients waiting to start treatment.

NHS Wales figures show around 18% of patient pathways were waiting more than a year.

Patient pathways is the total number of waits not the number of individual patients on waiting lists and some patients may be on more than one pathway.

“I think it’s a cheap political stunt for the summer and it seems very odd for a man who’s got 7.5 million people waiting on lists in England to be offering this kind of service beyond his borders,” Baroness Morgan said.

“Where on earth he’d find the capacity from I don’t know, but if the offer’s free then I certainly would want to take it up but my guess is this is just a cheap political stunt.”

‘Challenged’

The health minister acknowledged Wales was “challenged” when it came to waiting lists but cautioned against direct comparisons due to the different ways waiting lists are measured either side of the border.

“The fact is that we are challenged in terms of waiting lists in Wales but we count very differently, we include for example the number of people waiting for therapies,” the minister added.

“The number of people waiting for diagnostics. None of that is counted so you do have to compare like with like and we don’t do that when it does come to waiting lists.”

Scotland’s health secretary Michael Matheson suggested Westminster should concentrate on the “many issues south of the border”, such as doctors’ strikes.

Read more:
Breast cancer patient says she waited 28 weeks from test to treatment
Some cancer targets are poised to be scrapped by government

Mr Barclay also suggested he would like to see closer working between governments on health, a suggestion backed by Baroness Morgan.

“We’re more than happy to cooperate,” she said.

“In the past we used to have weekly meetings with UK health ministers, but since Steve Barclay’s been in power since October, we’ve had two.

“So this is a man who suddenly seems very converted to the cause of devolution when he wants to score a political point.”

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 14 2023

Couple whose Siberian husky dog mauled their three-month-old baby Kyra King to death spared jail | UK News

A couple whose Siberian husky dog mauled their three-month-old daughter to death have been spared jail.

Vince King and Karen Alcock’s female dog, named Blizzard, killed Kyra King in woodland on 6 March 2022.

The animal, one of 19 kept by the pair, jumped into the front of the couple’s van and out of the passenger door before mauling Kyra while she slept in her pram, Lincoln Crown Court heard.

King and Alcock had earlier been racing the dogs in Lincolnshire.

The dog, which will be put down, left Kyra with multiple head and neck injuries.

The parents performed CPR on the baby in an attempt to revive her.

Handing the pair suspended sentences on Monday, Judge Sjolin Knight said the incident resulted from a “tragic conjunction of circumstances”.

She said: “This is a tragic case, and I have no doubt that both of you wish every day you could wind the clock back so that incident never happened.

“There was nothing to trigger [Blizzard’s] attack on Kyra, but on this occasion she was dangerously out of control.

“Dog ownership is a privilege and for many a pleasure, but it comes with a heavy burden under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

“[Blizzard] did an awful thing which neither of you expected and will weigh heavily upon you for the rest of your lives.

“I don’t believe that this incident was reasonably foreseeable but believe it was a momentary lapse of an otherwise good system.

“It is appropriate to suspend both sentences.”

Jeremy Janes, prosecuting, told the court that the defendants were experienced dog owners and regularly raced the animals, which were used for sport in sledging teams, rather than being domestic pets.

King, 55, had raced dogs for 20 years after working in the military and also bred huskies.

On the day of the incident he had taken his dogs out for a practice run on a well-known route about three miles long.

Alcock, a 41-year-old veterinary nurse, had been with King since 2019 and accompanied him on the racing runs, with the pair working “as a team”.

Kyra had been taken along for the runs from just five days old and was described by the judge as a “very much wanted and loved baby”.

After racing seven dogs in Ostler’s Plantation, an area of woodland near Woodhall Spa, King returned to his van to swap the sledging teams over, with Blizzard leading the first team.

The dogs were transported in a van, the rear of which had been modified to contain lockable cages, and after her practice run, Blizzard was put inside the van to drink.

The dog attacked Kyra after leaping over the partition separating the cages from the van’s front seats.

Despite the efforts of King and Alcock, Kyra was pronounced dead at the scene and the pair were arrested.

Blizzard had been bought by King six years earlier, had been racing for three years and was pregnant at the time, Mr Janes said.

Alcock later said the dog had escaped two weeks before the incident and called her an “escape artist”, while King described her as “very energetic and eager to run, but not aggressive”.

Read more UK news:
Two men stabbed in homophobic attack
Shocking footage of dangerous behaviour on level crossings

Mr Janes said Kyra suffered “horrific” injuries, adding that the incident “could have been reasonably foreseen” and “should have been on the defendants’ minds”.

King pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury resulting in death, on the first day of his trial on 1 June and has no relevant previous convictions.

Alcock admitted the same charge on 23 December last year and has a previous police caution for being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, when a spaniel bit a child’s trousers after it had been sat on.

King was given a 10-month sentence, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

Alcock was given an eight-month sentence, also suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.

Judge Knight stopped short of banning the pair from owning dogs.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 14 2023

Bibby Stockholm: Asylum seekers should be moved back on the barge despite row over Legionella, says Steve Barclay | Politics News

Asylum seekers should still be put back on the Bibby Stockholm barge despite the row caused by the discovery of Legionella, the health secretary has said.

Legionella bacteria can cause a potentially deadly lung infection known as Legionnaires’ disease. It is contracted by people breathing in droplets of water containing the bacteria.

None of the migrants on the barge have shown any symptoms of the disease, according to the Home Office.

Asylum seekers were removed from the barge on Friday after Legionella bacteria was found in the vessel’s water system.

It later emerged that people spent four days on board the barge after the bacteria was discovered and before they were removed by the Home Office as a “precautionary measure” – prompting a blame game about what the government knew and when.

Dorset Council has said Home Office contractors were notified about the results last Monday – four days before people were moved off the barge.

The council went on to claim that a Home Office staff member was informed about the bacteria on Tuesday.

However, a government source previously told Sky News that there is no record of this conversation, and claimed the Home Office only received a written notification about the Legionella on Wednesday evening.

Speaking to Sky News, Mr Barclay said ministers were informed about traces of the bacteria only on Thursday.

Asked about claims the Home Office was informed about test results which discovered the bacteria on Tuesday, he said: “This is a standard thing the council had done. There is no reason to suggest there were concerns. As a precaution the tests were done.

“As soon as ministers were notified on Thursday night, there were some concerns with that, they took instant action.”

He added: “It may be the council notified the Home Office, that is an issue for those in the Home Office to respond to, obviously this is a Home Office lead.

“My understanding from colleagues in the Home Office is it was notified to Home Office ministers on Thursday and they then took very quick action as a result.”

And asked whether people should be put back on the Bibby Stockholm despite the controversy, Mr Barclay replied: “Yes, I do, because it’s costing around £6m a day in terms of the cost of hotels.

“It’s important that we both maintain safety standards, but also reflect the pressure on the taxpayer position in terms of that £6m.”

The health secretary also said no migrants had shown signs of illness from Legionella.

“There has been no concerns in terms of anyone that has been on the barge and all those people are being subject to health assessments,” he said.

The barge is one of a number of alternative sites the Home Office is using to end reliance on expensive hotels for asylum seekers, which the government says is costing the taxpayer £6m a day.

Its operation has been mired in controversy after its opening was delayed several times before it finally opened to asylum seekers last Monday.

Charities have warned that those on board the boat have been “re-traumatised” after they were evacuated following the discovery of Legionella.

Conservative ministers have faced calls to resign over the saga, with former Cabinet minister David Davis saying the evacuation “revealed the “startling incompetence of the Home Office itself”.

“The primary thing that’s been revealed has been the startling incompetence of the Home Office itself,” he told BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme:

“Rather famously many years ago, John Reid, when he took over as home secretary, talked about it being not fit for purpose, and I’m afraid you’re seeing that here.

“It’s really, really hard to understand how, at all layers, this could not be caught early.”

Read more:
Tories want to create dividing lines with Labour – but small boats week shows that can backfire
Over 100,000 people now likely to have crossed Channel in small boats since records began

He added: “Even working properly, the Bibby barge would only take effectively one day’s arrivals. So it’s not a solution to the problem and all of this is going to go on until the Home Office is able to process these arrivals more quickly.”

The government believes the existence of the barge will serve as a deterrent to those arriving in England via small boats in the Channel.

However, in a further blow to Rishi Sunak, last week saw the highest daily number of people cross the Channel, with 755 migrants making the journey on Thursday.

It brought the cumulative total since records began in 2018 to over 100,000.

The government was then forced to defend its immigration strategy after at least six people died after a small boat crossing from France to the UK capsized and sank, in what was described as an “appalling and preventable” tragedy.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 14 2023

CCTV footage shows pedestrians ‘risking their lives’ at level crossings | UK News

Footage shows parents letting their toddlers play on live railway lines, young people doing one-armed press-ups, and dog walkers sitting their pets on the tracks for photos.

Network Rail has released a compilation of CCTV footage showing people “risking their lives” at footpath level crossings in Worcestershire.

Covert cameras captured six instances of “incredibly dangerous behaviour” at crossings.

The company said they were just a handful of examples out of nearly 50 cases of misuse either reported by train drivers or caught on hidden cameras.

In one clip, loud music plays while a teenager does one-armed press-ups in the middle of a crossing – and in another a horn sounds as two dog walkers rush across eight seconds before a high-speed train passes.

One video shows a dog walker encouraging two dogs to sit on the tracks while another takes photos of them.

Footage also shows a primary school aged boy on a scooter rushing over the crossing in front of an oncoming train that arrives seven seconds later.

A man with two little girls playing on the rails can be seen pointing out the “pretty hills” in the distance to them – they were caught on camera on the tracks for over 90 seconds.

In another incident, two boys can be seen placing ballast stones on the track so they are run over by trains.

Alexandra France, Network Rail level crossing safety manager, said: “In so many of the incidents filmed, the difference of just a few seconds could have led to tragedy for those involved.

“I can’t downplay the danger they were in – with serious injury or worse a huge possibility.

“No matter how well you think you know a crossing, all users must obey the rules around using level crossings every time they use it. It just really isn’t worth the risk.”

Network Rail level crossing safety teams are now visiting the problem crossings to directly warn people of the dangers on the railway.

They will be handing out leaflets and explaining to passers-by people using footpath level crossings should: concentrate; stop, look and listen; check both ways before crossing; understand the warnings; and cross quickly, keeping children close and dogs on a lead.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 13 2023

UK weather: Heavy rain to drench UK before temperatures soar to 30C next week | UK News

The UK will be drenched in heavy rain next week but the deluge could give way to temperatures of 30C, according to the Met Office.

A yellow rain warning has been issued for northern England and Wales on Monday, with risks of flooding and disruption to infrastructure and transport.

However, once the rain subsides temperatures are set to soar in parts of the country, with southern England reaching 30C by the weekend – higher than the 26C predicted in Los Angeles.

UK weather: The latest Sky News forecast

Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said the warning runs through the early hours of Monday morning and into the evening, ending at 9pm.

He said temperatures should remain between 18-23C, before becoming drier on Tuesday.

“Temperatures overall similar to the last couple of days really. So, jumping between 18 and 23C so overall an unsettled day,” he said.

“The good news is that low pressure moves out of the way as we go into Tuesday, so it should be a drier day on Tuesday.

“A better chance of seeing some sunny spells particularly across eastern parts of the UK.”

Read more:
How to stay cool at night during hot weather
Get the latest 5-day forecast where you are

Temperatures could begin to soar

He said temperatures could then start to soar in southern parts of the UK as the week progresses.

“An area of low pressure to the west of the UK and the Atlantic slowly starts to move towards us,” he said.

“What that allows to happen is for the winds to turn southerly, and we start to import some higher temperatures from the near continent.

“So, staying into Friday, we’re likely to see those temperatures rising, potentially getting towards the high 20s and then possibly by Friday and into the weekend, depending on cloud and shower distribution, we could locally see temperatures around 30C by the weekend.”

It comes after the UK experienced its sixth-wettest July on record, with flooding and strong gusts from Storm Antoni bringing a miserable start to August.

admin 0 Comments

Uncategorized

Aug 13 2023

Pembrokeshire campsite crash: Baby was inside tent that was struck by car which veered off the road and injured nine people | UK News

A baby was inside the tent that was struck by a car after it veered off the road and crashed into a campsite – leaving two people in a serious condition and seven others injured.

Clare Harris, who runs the Newgale campsite in Pembrokeshire, has said the baby is “okay” after the ordeal.

It is not clear if the child is one of those who required hospital treatment.

Two people are in a serious condition in hospital after a blue Ford Fiesta collided with a number of people and the tent shortly after 10.30pm on Saturday.

One person was airlifted to the University Hospital of Wales, the Welsh Ambulance Service said.

Four were taken by ambulance to Glangwilli Hospital, while one was taken to Morriston Hospital.

Ms Harris, who runs the campsite with her husband Mike, said: “The car was speeding down the hill, realised it needed to slow down and tried to brake.

“It flipped and rolled several times, and crashed into the tent.

“There was a young child, a baby, in the tent at the time, thankfully they are okay.

“It’s a tragic accident that the police are dealing with, that’s all we can say at the moment.”

The car is believed to have been travelling from the village of Roch towards St Davids when it crashed off the A487.

Dyfed Powys Police said passengers in the car were among those injured.

Police said in a statement: “The road was closed to allow investigations and reopened at around 7.45am today.

“Officers are appealing for any information regarding the vehicle, a blue Ford Fiesta, and its occupants.

“We are especially interested in any dashcam footage or doorbell footage which may have captured the vehicle being driven from Roch to the scene of the collision at Newgale.”

HM Coastguard in Broad Haven said: “The team were paged at 11.23pm last night to assist with multi-agency incident in Newgale.

“We organised a helicopter site and supported paramedics with casualty care.”

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called yesterday at around 22:40 to reports of an incident at Newgale Campsite, Pembrokeshire.

“We sent six emergency ambulances, one duty operations manager, one Cymru high acuity response unit and our crews were supported on scene by the emergency medical and retrieval transfer service and search and rescue helicopter.

“One patient was flown to University Hospital of Wales, four patients were taken by road to Glangwilli Hospital, and one patient was taken by road to Morriston Hospital.”

admin 0 Comments