News 17/03/26

MSPs have voted against legalising assisted dying in Scotland after a closely contested late night debate.

The Scottish Parliament rejected plans that would have made it the first part of the United Kingdom to allow assisted suicide, while MPs at Westminster continue to discuss similar proposals. The result at Holyrood was fifty nine votes against and sixty seven in favour, with one abstention. Sources had said before the vote the outcome was too close to predict, but the bill has now been defeated.

Two people from Slough have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a crash between a van and a cyclist.

Police were called at about seven ten in the evening on Tuesday the tenth of March following reports of a collision on Victoria Road in Farnham Common. The incident involved a Vauxhall van carrying ladders on its roof and a man who was stationary on a bicycle. The cyclist, a man in his forties, suffered a serious head injury and was taken to hospital but has since been discharged.

The government is preparing a possible court case against former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich after he missed a deadline to release £2.5m from the sale of the club.

Ministers had issued a licence for the frozen money to be transferred to a foundation to provide aid in Ukraine. The businessman had ninety days to act, and officials say they have now written to his lawyers to warn that legal action may follow.

Iranian state media says the country’s security chief Ali Larijani has been killed. Israel had earlier said he died in an overnight strike near Tehran.

Iran at first appeared to deny the report by posting a handwritten note on social media it claimed was written by him shortly afterwards. The message paid tribute to sailors killed in what Iran described as a United States submarine attack on its Dena warship earlier this month.

Sir Keir Starmer has said the focus must remain on Ukraine despite the war involving Iran, as he welcomed President Volodymyr Zelensky to Downing Street.

The prime minister said Vladimir Putin could benefit from the conflict, through higher oil prices or the easing of sanctions. The United States has temporarily relaxed sanctions on some Russian oil to tackle rising prices linked to the Middle East conflict. The two leaders are expected to agree a new defence partnership to counter the use of cheap attack drones.

New rules for driving tests will be introduced in the coming months to make the booking system fairer, according to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

From the twelfth of May only learner drivers will be allowed to book, change or swap a car driving test. From the ninth of June further limits will apply when changing the location of a test, with moves only allowed to the three nearest centres. Roads Minister Simon Lightwood said the changes should cut waiting lists and stop slots being sold at higher prices.

Donald Trump’s senior counterterrorism official has resigned over the war in Iran, saying the country posed no imminent threat to the United States.

Joe Kent announced his decision in a social media post, saying he could not in good conscience support the conflict. He wrote that Iran had not threatened the nation and claimed the war had begun because of pressure from Israel and what he described as its powerful American lobby.

Fifteen cases of meningitis have now been reported to the UK Health Security Agency, according to its latest statement issued yesterday evening.

All of the cases required hospital treatment, and four have been confirmed through testing as the MenB strain. The agency had previously reported thirteen cases in Kent, including two young people who died, and says the latest figures reflect the most recent confirmed information available.

Gerry Adams has told a court he was never a member of the Irish Republican Army and had no involvement in bombings carried out by the group.

In a witness statement to the Royal Courts of Justice in London, the former Sinn Fein leader said he was never part of the IRA or its Army Council. He said allegations in a civil claim linking him to three bombings in Britain in the nineteen seventies and nineteen nineties were untrue.

An eighteen year old woman says she was left frustrated after being told she could not be shortlisted for a trainee job because her car was too old.

Alanah Thompson French, from Burton Joyce in Nottinghamshire, applied for a trainee lettings negotiator role in Nottingham. She says she was told her two thousand and fourteen Citroen C1 did not meet the requirement for a vehicle under ten years old. The company says reliable cars are needed for safety.

Iran’s security chief has reportedly been killed, according to Israel’s defence minister.

Israel Katz said Ali Larijani died in an overnight strike, and the Israeli Defence Forces said he was killed in a precise attack at a location near Tehran. Iran appeared to deny the report, posting a handwritten note on social media that it claimed had been written by Larijani shortly after the strike was reported.

Five National Lottery players are still to claim prizes, including one ticket worth more than ten million pounds.

The winning ticket, bought in Bexley in south east London for the fourth of October draw, is worth ten million six hundred and thirty three thousand three hundred and twenty three pounds. The numbers were six, eight, twelve, thirty three, forty nine and fifty nine, with bonus forty two, and the winner has only weeks left to claim.

Travel firms say British holidaymakers are rebooking Easter trips away from Dubai because of the war in neighbouring Iran.

Disruption to flights across the Middle East and warnings against travel to parts of the region have caused bookings to fall for the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt. Demand has increased for Portugal, Italy and Spain, as well as the Caribbean, Mauritius and the United States, with some flights filling faster than last year.

The UK Health Security Agency says the meningitis cases identified in Kent are the MenB strain.

Dr Gayatri Amirthalingam told the BBC the outbreak is serious and devastating, but remains contained in the local area around Canterbury and Kent and is not spreading more widely. She said the disease does not spread easily and usually requires very close or prolonged contact, including intimate contact such as kissing between people.

The leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the UK are urging Israel and Lebanon to begin negotiations on what they call a sustainable political solution.

In a joint statement they described the humanitarian situation in Lebanon as deeply alarming. They called on Hezbollah to disarm and stop attacks on Israel, condemning the group for joining Iran in hostilities, and urged immediate de-escalation to avoid a wider and longer conflict.

MSPs are due to vote later on whether to legalise assisted dying for terminally ill adults in Scotland.

The proposed law has gone through lengthy debate with hundreds of amendments discussed during several long sessions in the Scottish Parliament. If approved, the bill would allow adults aged eighteen or over, with mental capacity and less than six months to live, to request medical assistance to end their life. The vote is expected late tonight.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she wants to stop leading British technology firms and scientists moving abroad to make money.

She told the BBC the government wants that pattern to end and confirmed investment of two point five billion pounds in quantum computing and artificial intelligence. She says closer links with the European Union and stronger regional economies will help growth, while Conservatives say ministers are trying to blame others for economic problems.

Temperatures in parts of the UK could reach close to twenty degrees later this week, bringing the warmest weather of the year so far.

After a colder spell with some wintry conditions in places, forecasters say more spring-like weather is returning. The change will come around the time of the spring equilux, when day and night are the same length, and most areas are expected to stay dry with spells of sunshine.