News 08/01/26

Just over seventy thousand homes are without power across England and Wales, according to the National Grid map of outages.

Around fifty six thousand properties are affected in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, where red warnings for extreme wind remain in place because of Storm Goretti. A further eleven thousand four hundred homes are without electricity in the West Midlands, while about three thousand one hundred properties are affected in Wales. National Grid says it is fully prepared and ready to respond as the weather intensifies.

Increasing numbers of women in the UK are dying during pregnancy or in the weeks following birth, according to new figures.

The rise means the government has failed to meet its target of halving maternal death rates by twenty twenty five. Official data shows there were two hundred and fifty two maternal deaths between twenty twenty two and twenty twenty four. That is around twenty percent higher than rates recorded between two thousand nine and two thousand eleven, equating to twelve point eight deaths per one hundred thousand women.

Arsenal missed the chance to go eight points clear at the top of the Premier League after being held to a goalless draw by Liverpool.

The match ended on a sour note when substitute Gabriel Martinelli was booked for attempting to push Conor Bradley off the pitch in stoppage time. Bradley had gone down with a painful knee injury and was later taken away on a stretcher. Arsenal had arrived with momentum after winning five league matches.

Storm Goretti has arrived in the UK, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and snow.

Named by French weather forecaster Meteo France, it has been described by the Met Office as a multi hazard event, with as much as thirty centimetres of snow possible in parts of the country. Weather warnings for snow, wind, rain and ice cover much of the UK ahead of disruption and dangerous travelling conditions. The Met Office says violent gusts will hit Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, posing a danger to life.

A woman has been jailed and ordered to pay hundreds of pounds in compensation after assaulting two police officers.

Joanna Koutalides admitted several charges following incidents involving two constables in Stoke Poges and Slough. High Wycombe Magistrates Court heard the thirty year old assaulted PC Williams and PC Mazhjar on November fifteenth last year. She pleaded guilty to assaulting a constable in the execution of their duty and to using threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

The boss of Greggs said there was no doubt appetite suppressing drugs had led customers to look for smaller portions, affecting the company’s bottom line.

Roisin Currie said people were also seeking protein, fibre and generally healthier options, with the bakery introducing products to meet demand. Greggs has previously said dietary changes prompted a move away from its traditional range of hearty high fat pasties, cakes and pastries. The comments come as the firm reported lacklustre profits and issued a muted forecast for the year ahead.

A Slough drunk driver has been sentenced after smashing into a motorcyclist who is still recovering from his serious injuries over a year later.

Footage shows the moment that Craig Churches, 33, of Berners Close in Slough, hit a motorcyclist in December 2024. Churches was drunk and blew over 100 at the roadside, with the legal limit being 35. He has received a prison sentence for 20 months, suspended for 18 months, required to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £3,000.

Anthony Joshua has paid tribute to two close friends killed in a car crash in Nigeria, which also left the boxer injured.

In an Instagram post, the thirty six year old thanked people for their love, spoke of walking and joking with his friends, and said the loss was tough for him but even harder for their parents. He said he believed God knew their hearts and asked for mercy.

Storm Goretti is rapidly deepening, according to Sky News weather producer Jo Robinson.

The storm, named by the French meteorological service, is moving across the UK today, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and heavy snow. Robinson said the system is deepening at speed, a process known as explosive cyclogenesis, sometimes called a weather bomb. This happens when a storm’s central pressure drops by twenty four millibars or more within twenty four hours.

Former Premier League referee David Coote has avoided jail after being sentenced over a sexual video of a schoolboy found on his laptop.

Nottingham Crown Court heard the footage was category A, the most serious kind, and showed a fifteen year old boy wearing school uniform. Coote received a nine month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Average UK house prices fell by 0.6% in December, Halifax has reported, marking a drop of £1,789 compared with November.

On an annual basis, growth in property values slowed to 0.3%, down from 0.6% the previous month. Economists had expected a small rise, with a Reuters poll forecasting a 0.2% monthly increase and a 1.1% annual gain. Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said the typical property now costs £297,755, the lowest level since June 2025.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received millions from an oligarch using funds from a company linked to criminal corruption, a BBC investigation has found.

Kazakh billionaire Timur Kulibayev told the BBC via lawyers that he used a loan from Enviro Pacific Investments to help buy the former prince’s mansion. Italian prosecutors concluded that Enviro Pacific had received money from a bribery scheme in 2007. Weeks after the final payment, Kulibayev purchased Sunninghill Park in Berkshire from Andrew for £15 million using the company’s funds.

A petition asking Slough Borough Council to delay a new diesel taxi policy has gathered over 1,500 signatures.

In 2021, the council received £370,035 from the Government’s Air Quality Grant to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles by taxi and private hire drivers. In 2023, a vehicle age policy was adopted to support this initiative and reduce air pollution from vehicles in Slough.

A woman has been shot dead by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis.

The city council identified her as Renee Nicole Good, saying she was caring for neighbours when her life was taken by the federal government. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said she was shot after attempting to weaponise her vehicle and run over an officer. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey rejected that account, criticised ICE operations, and told officers to leave the city.

The Met Office has issued snow warnings across the UK as Storm Goretti approaches.

Yellow warnings cover parts of East Anglia, the Midlands, the North and South West, along with much of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. An amber warning is in place for central Wales, the Midlands and parts of the North, with up to thirty centimetres forecast. Drivers could be stranded, with rail and air disruption expected.

More than thirty thousand pounds of taxpayer money has been spent on a new logo for nationalised rail services.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander unveiled the emblem for Great British Railways last month. The design uses the double arrow symbol seen under British Rail when trains were last publicly owned. As well as the logo, carriages across the network are also receiving a new paint job.

Research suggests people who stop using weight loss injections such as Mounjaro or Wegovy can regain weight four times faster than those ending diet and exercise plans.

Data in the British Medical Journal shows users lose about a fifth of body weight but regain point eight kilograms a month after stopping. That means returning to pre treatment weight in around eighteen months, according to Dr Susan Jebb.

England’s Ashes tour ended in defeat as Australia won the fifth Test by five wickets to take the series 4-1.

Australia chased one hundred and sixty at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Despite injuries including to captain Pat Cummins, Australia dominated on home soil. For England, it marked one of their most disappointing Ashes tours in recent memory.