News 14/02/26

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died in prison after being poisoned with a deadly toxin found on the skin of Ecuadorian dart frogs, according to the United Kingdom and other allies.

They described the use of the neurotoxin, classed as a chemical weapon, as barbaric and said it could only have been carried out by Vladimir Putin’s government. They added it was highly likely the poisoning resulted in his death. It is not clear how the substance, known as epibatidine, was allegedly administered to Mr Navalny, who was being held in a penal colony in Siberia when he died almost exactly two years ago.

A man has been jailed for life after being found guilty of murdering his older brother.

Darren Steel, 41, from Morriston in Swansea, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of twenty years. He had also been convicted of grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm at an earlier trial. The body of 48 year old Martin Steel was discovered by his mother at an address on Hill View Crescent in Clase shortly after 10:30 in the morning on the29th of May 2023. Swansea Crown Court heard he had been attacked and left to die.

The chairman of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Casey Wasserman, is selling his talent and marketing agency after historic flirtatious emails with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell were published, according to United States reports.

In a memo to staff at the Wasserman Group, he apologised for what he described as past personal mistakes and said he had become a distraction for the company. He wrote that it was not fair to employees, clients or partners. The emails with Maxwell took place more than twenty years ago.

Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK will deploy its carrier strike group to the North Atlantic and High North region later this year.

The prime minister said it will be led by HMS Prince of Wales, operating alongside the United States, Canada and other NATO allies. He described the move as a powerful show of commitment to Euro Atlantic security. Sir Keir also confirmed the UK is enhancing nuclear cooperation with France, noting that for decades Britain has been the only nuclear power in Europe to commit its deterrent to protect all NATO members.

Documents uncovered by Sky News appear to show that Peter Mandelson’s ministerial assistant sent Jeffrey Epstein a copy of a government speech before it was delivered publicly.

The email was sent from a government address to Epstein’s Gmail account on the twenty fourth of July two thousand and nine, just two days after he was released from prison for sexual offending. The message was signed off as executive assistant to the secretary of state. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on behalf of the assistant.

The crisis in NHS dentistry has become so severe that a charity set up to run clinics in poorer countries is now spending more time operating in the United Kingdom.

Millions of people are struggling to access services, with significant regional variations in care, and those in poorer areas are worst affected. The British Dental Association says fundamental reform is needed to guarantee the survival of NHS dentistry. In Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, Dentaid has partnered with a local support group to provide free dental care for people unable to access NHS dentists.

Police activity linked to the search for Nancy Guthrie is under way at a property around two miles from her home in Tucson, Arizona.

Armed officers have been seen entering and leaving the area, with a sheriff’s vehicle blocking the road. Local officials say investigators found DNA at her address which does not belong to her or anyone close to her. The eighty four year old, mother of US news anchor Savannah Guthrie, disappeared in the middle of the night nearly two weeks ago and authorities believe she was taken against her will.

A new action plan has been published to improve special educational needs services in Slough.

Slough Borough Council has released a Priority Action and Impact Plan to address concerns raised in an Ofsted and CQC inspection carried out between the seventh and eleventh of July last year. The report, published in November, identified widespread and systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND.