CharlieH

3 kids, age 12 and under, after midnight riding a motorcycle ! What could possibly go wrong. The irresponsible actions of some parents just astound me.

Inflammatory trolling post and subsequent responses removed.

Right tool for the right job. I wouldn't be buying furniture or large appliances etc etc online. I'd need to see it and touch it first. Not being potentially misled by a manipulated images.

Wealth can be measured in many ways. You are here, you seems to have reasonable health, you havnt been hit by a truck or succumbed to substance etc, maybe NONE of that would be the case if you HAD NOT contributed. You have a roof over your head, clothes on your back and food on the table, money in your pocket. Be grateful and recognise what you have that millions do not.😉

MOVED to Finance forum

It is a scandal that has rumbled for years, and yet it is suddenly dominating UK politics. Here is a guide to the saga of the Post Office and its Horizon IT system. What is it all about? It has been described without exaggeration by the British prime minister, Rishi Sunak, as one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in UK history: the hounding and prosecution of thousands of people who owned and ran smaller post offices for alleged fraud between 1999 and 2015, the overwhelming majority of whom were falsely accused. The initial fault was with Horizon, a digital accounting system installed by the IT multinational Fujitsu, which wrongly said post office branches had cash shortfalls. This was then compounded by the Post Office, the company behind the network, which rejected any fault with Horizon and insisted operators must have taken the money, to the extent of covering up the real problem. Overall, 3,500 branch owner-operators were wrongly accused and more than 900 prosecuted, with many of these jailed and ruined. Some suffered significant ill health, local ostracism and family breakup, and in a handful of cases, suicide. Who were the people wrongly accused? These were, in the traditional job description, subpostmasters and postmistresses, who owned and ran smaller post offices as franchises. While they were independent, often owning the building where the business was based, they were part of the Post Office system, which handles not just letters and parcels but services including banking, bill payments, money transfers and applications for documents. The Post Office, which has about 11,500 branches across the UK, was formerly part of Royal Mail, but was split off in 2012 when the mail service was privatised. FULL STORY

Israel has shown “chilling” and “incontrovertible” intent to commit genocide in Gaza, with full knowledge of how many civilians it is killing, the UN international court of justice in The Hague has heard, at the opening of a case Israel has described as baseless. South Africa, which has brought the case, alleged “grave violence and genocidal acts” by Israel, on the first morning of the two-day hearing amid a febrile atmosphere outside the court in The Hague. It called on the judges to order an immediate ceasefire. It said evidence of genocide was present in the number of civilians killed by Israel and also in statements made by its political and military leaders, including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. In support of its case, it showed photos of Palestinian mass graves, Israeli flags adorning wreckage in Gaza and what it claimed were videos of Netanyahu expressing support for genocide, as well as troops – taking his cue, it alleged – chanting “no uninvolved citizens”. “Genocides are never declared in advance but this court has the benefit of the past 13 weeks of evidence that shows incontrovertibly, a pattern of conduct and related intention that justifies a plausible claim of genocidal acts,” the South African lawyer Adila Hassim told the court. Her colleague Tembeka Ngcukaitobi said there had been “reiteration and repetition of genocidal speech throughout every sphere of state in Israel” such that “the evidence of genocidal intent is not only chilling, it is also overwhelming and incontrovertible”. Israel, which has denied the allegations, will give its response on Friday. It has said it is waging war against Palestinian militants, not the Palestinian people. In a statement, Israel’s foreign ministry accused South Africa of rank hypocrisy, saying it had ignored “the fact that Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, murdered, executed, massacred, raped and kidnapped Israeli citizens, just because they were Israelis, in an attempt to carry out genocide”. FULL STORY

SUMMARY US and UK forces have carried out air strikes against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen President Biden says the strikes are in response to attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis on ships in the Red Sea since November Royal Air Force warplanes helped carry out the "targeted strikes" against military facilities, says PM Rishi Sunak The UK PM adds that the strikes are "limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defence" The Netherlands, Australia, Canada and Bahrain provided support as part of the mission, says Biden Houthi deputy foreign minister warns US and UK will "pay a heavy price" for this "blatant aggression" Strikes are reported in the capital Sanaa, the Houthi Red Sea port of Hudaydah, Dhamar and north-western Houthi stronghold of Saada The Houthis control much of Yemen and say they are supporting ally Hamas by targeting shipping headed to Israel Pentagon details air strike targets US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has just released a statement saying that the joint military "action is intended to disrupt and degrade the Houthis’ capabilities". The attacks "targeted the Houthis’ unmanned aerial vehicle, uncrewed surface vessel, land-attack cruise missile, and costal radar and air surveillance capabilities". A US defense official said the Pentagon chief had monitored the operation in real time from hospital, where he has had surgery for prostate cancer. This official said Austin was "actively involved" and has spoken to the president twice in the past 72 hours leading up to the operation. Austin has been under political fire this week after he failed to let the White House know about his hospital admission, including time in intensive care. FULL STORY

Donald Trump returned to Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday for the last day of his fraud trial, lashing out in court at the attorney general who brought the case. A judge has already determined that Trump family members and executives fraudulently inflated assets to secure favourable loans. But the trial will determine damages. New York Judge Arthur Engoron has said he will issue a final written ruling in the case by the end of the month. The outcome could be stiff penalties that may challenge the famous family's legacy after it built its fortune in New York real estate. New York Attorney General Letitia James is asking the judge for a $370m (£290m) penalty. She also aims to bar Donald Trump from ever doing business in New York again, a five-year ban for Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr and an independent monitor to oversee their company for the next five years. Mr Trump's attorneys attempted to discredit Ms James's case, arguing during two hours of closing argument on Thursday that the family had not committed fraud. At the end, the former president interjected as well. After defence lawyer Christopher Kise requested that his client be allowed to speak, Mr Trump told the judge the trial was a "a fraud on me". Judge Engoron allowed Mr Trump to continue talking despite him refusing to abide by restrictions set by the judge. Mr Trump went on to insult Judge Engoron as well as Ms James. "We have a situation where I'm an innocent man, I've been persecuted by someone running for office," Mr Trump said, before Judge Engoron told Mr Kise to "control his client". Mr Trump has made similar complaints during the three-month trial, both in his testimony before the court and in his speeches to reporters outside. He also brought up similar grievances when speaking to the press on three separate occasions during the hearing on Thursday. FULL STORY

A huge ancient city has been found in the Amazon, hidden for thousands of years by lush vegetation. The discovery changes what we know about the history of people living in the Amazon. The houses and plazas in the Upano area in eastern Ecuador were connected by an astounding network of roads and canals. The area lies in the shadow of a volcano that created rich local soils but also may have led to the destruction of the society. While we knew about cities in the highlands of South America, like Machu Picchu in Peru, it was believed that people only lived nomadically or in tiny settlements in the Amazon. "This is older than any other site we know in the Amazon. We have a Eurocentric view of civilisation, but this shows we have to change our idea about what is culture and civilisation," says Prof Stephen Rostain, director of investigation at the National Centre for Scientific Research in France, who led the research. "It changes the way we see Amazonian cultures. Most people picture small groups, probably naked, living in huts and clearing land - this shows ancient people lived in complicated urban societies," says co-author Antoine Dorison. The city was built around 2,500 years ago, and people lived there for up to 1,000 years, according to archaeologists. It is difficult to accurately estimate how many people lived there at any one time, but scientists say it is certainly in the 10,000s if not 100,000s. The archaeologists combined ground excavations with a survey of a 300 sq km (116 sq mile) area using laser sensors flown on a plane that could identify remains of the city beneath the dense plants and trees. This LiDAR technology found 6,000 rectangular platforms measuring about 20m (66 ft) by 10m (33 ft) and 2-3m high. FULL STORY

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Because why would you want or need to like your own posts. They are provided for use on other posts. not your own.

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A number of inappropriate nasty remarks removed. CLOSED to further comment.

Foxtrot

Wandering off topic posts and reply removed.

Doctors from the UK who have been working at what they say is the only functioning hospital in the central Gaza Strip have told the BBC of their "deep concern" for patients and staff remaining there - as fighting between the Israeli military and Hamas has reportedly intensified in nearby areas. Deborah Harrington, an obstetrician who has been working at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah with the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), said the fighting meant there has been "a real decrease" in the number of staff able to work at the facility over the past two weeks. At the same time, she said some 600 to 700 patients were still being treated inside the hospital daily, and that hundreds of displaced people were sheltering there or in the immediate vicinity. "Without any functioning or sufficient healthcare staff, it will be an unmitigated disaster for those people living in Middle Gaza," another member of the team, surgeon Nick Maynard, told the BBC. When asked about the reports, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC: "The forces closest to there are 1.5km (0.9 miles) away and there is no activity there." Hospitals are specifically protected under international humanitarian law. Any military operation around hospitals must take steps to spare patients, medical staff and other civilians inside them. On Sunday, MAP and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) announced that their staff had been "forced to withdraw and cease activities" as a result of what they called "increasing Israeli military activity around the al-Aqsa Hospital". The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, also said it had "received troubling reports of increasing hostilities and ongoing evacuation orders near the vital al-Aqsa hospital... which according to the facility's director forced over 600 patients and most health workers to leave". He stated that al-Aqsa was "the most important hospital remaining in Gaza's Middle Area and must remain functional, and protected, to deliver its lifesaving services". "Further erosion of its functionality cannot be permitted - doing so in the face of such trauma, injury and humanitarian suffering would be a moral and medical outrage," he warned. FULL STORY

Donald Trump will not speak during the closing day of his civil fraud trial in New York. After speculation over whether the former US president would make a statement, the judge shared emails showing he had not agreed to limits on what he could say. "Take it or leave it," the judge told Mr Trump's lawyers. "Now or never." Mr Trump's team also asked the judge to postpone Thursday's hearing because of the death of Melania Trump's mother. But Judge Arthur Engoran said he was "sorry" but the plans and schedules had already been set. Mr Trump's civil fraud trial is resuming in New York City on Thursday, when lawyers for both sides are set to make their closing arguments. The former president and his two adult sons are accused of massively inflating the value of their properties by hundreds of millions of dollars in order to secure better loans. They deny any wrongdoing. The judge in the case has already ruled that they committed business fraud, but the trial is focusing on six remaining charges - and the judge must also decide how much to fine Mr Trump in penalties. It is not a criminal trial. The prosecutor, New York Attorney General Letitia James, is asking for Mr Trump to be fined $370m (£290m) and be banned from doing real-estate business in New York. Five things to know about Trump's New York trial The billion-dollar question at heart of Trump trial 'Take it or leave it' For days, there has been speculation in US media over whether Mr Trump might speak during the closing arguments. But on Wednesday, Judge Arthur Engoran released emails between himself and Christopher Kise, one of Mr Trump's lawyers which suggested it would not be happening. FULL STORY

The US and UK have hinted they could take military action against Yemen's Houthi rebels, after they repelled the largest attack yet on Red Sea shipping. Carrier-based jets and warships shot down 21 drones and missiles launched by the Iran-backed group on Tuesday night. The allies warned of "consequences" for such attacks. Asked about potential strikes in Yemen, UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: "Watch this space." The Houthis said they targeted a US ship providing support to Israel. The have repeatedly claimed - often falsely - that they are attacking merchant vessels linked to Israel in protest at Israeli actions during the war in Gaza. Houthis defiant after warning over Red Sea attacks What do Red Sea assaults mean for global trade? Listen: Who are the Houthi rebels - BBC Sounds Tuesday's attack was the 26th on commercial shipping in the Red Sea since 19 November. The US military said Iranian-designed one-way attack drones, anti-ship cruise missiles and anti-ship ballistic missiles were launched from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen at around 21:15 local time (18:15 GMT). Eighteen drones, two cruise missiles and one ballistic missile were shot down by F/A-18 warplanes from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower, which is deployed in the Red Sea, and by four destroyers, the USS Gravely, USS Laboon, USS Mason and HMS Diamond. HMS Diamond shot down seven of the Houthi drones using its guns and Sea Viper missiles, each costing more than £1m ($1.3m), a defence source said. No injuries or damage were reported. Later, Houthi military spokesman Yahya al-Sarea confirmed its forces had carried out an operation involving "a large number of ballistic and naval missiles and drones". "It targeted a US ship that was providing support for the Zionist entity [Israel]," he said. "The operation came as an initial response to the treacherous assault on our naval forces by the US enemy forces," he added, referring to the sinking of three Houthi speed boats and killing of their crews by US Navy helicopters during an attempted attack on a container ship on 31 December. He added that the rebels would "not hesitate to adequately deal with all hostile threats as part of the legitimate right to defend our country, people and nation". Mr Sarea also reiterated that the Houthis would continue to "prevent Israeli ships or ships heading towards occupied Palestine from navigating in both the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea until the [Israeli] aggression [on Gaza] has come to an end and the blockade has been lifted". FULL STORY

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has dropped out of the presidential race with a parting shot at frontrunner Donald Trump. "I am going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again," the Trump ally-turned-critic said. The Republican had faced pressure to step aside and allow the party to unify around a viable challenger to Mr Trump. He did not endorse anyone as he bowed out of the race. But on a hot mic moments before he announced he was ending his bid, Mr Christie predicted that Nikki Haley, who is gaining on Mr Trump in some polls, was "going to get smoked, and you and I both know it". "She's not up to this," he added. He also said another rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, was "petrified". Mr Christie, 61, said he was suspending his campaign at a town hall event in the US state of New Hampshire on Wednesday afternoon. He devoted much of his remarks to a plea to Republican voters to reject the former president, who he accused of "putting himself before the people of this country". "Donald Trump wants you to be angry every day because he is angry," he added. FULL STORY

This topic is now CLOSED to discussion The OP was meant as a general guide and a basis to work from and will probably be amended as more information becomes available, however from a discussion aspect its reached the end.

Reported flame post removed.

Nancy Faraj was eating lunch with her family at her home in the village of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon when Israel bombed the house next door, killing two of her neighbours. Within hours she and her family had grabbed a handful of possessions and headed north-west for the city of Tyre, 50 miles (80km) south of Beirut, where they are now living in a school with several hundred others. For Faraj, 25, it marks the second time she has been displaced by war with Israel. In the 2006 conflict, when she was seven, she fled with her mother to Beirut. Now she has been displaced again, this time with her own children. “We came here three weeks ago. Up until then the bombing was away from the village and we felt relatively safe. But after they hit my neighbour’s house the decision was immediate. “It feels like the fighting is getting worse,” she added, saying that the family no longer wanted to live close to the boundary. In three months, according to figures released last week by the International Organization for Migration, about 76,000 people have been driven from southern Lebanon. Local authorities in Tyre, a pretty seaside city with ancient ruins, are registering between 200 and 300 newly displaced people each day. A short drive south along roads lined with citrus and palm groves, vehicles become increasingly scarce, barring the patrolling vehicles of Unifil, the UN observer mission. In the small town of Naqoura, 1.5 miles from the boundary with Israel, a pile of tangled rubble is all that remains of a house hit in an Israeli strike last week. Surrounding homes and businesses are without windows and peppered with shrapnel. An Israeli drone buzzes nearby. It is a reminder of the risk that has become almost constant in the south. The handful of people who remain in Naqoura are palpably anxious and unwilling to speak or be identified. In a mini-market next to the destroyed house, a man is cleaning up his ruined business, whose windows have been blown out. He left, he said, two minutes before the strike, which killed his cousins. A young man on a moped appears and checks the Guardian’s paperwork. He leaves and then returns after a few minutes delivering a message from Hezbollah asking reporters to leave. In three months the violence here has taken on its own logic. The formal situation is that the “cessation of hostilities” defined by UN resolution 1701, which brought an end to the 2006 war, is still in place. Despite what has been happening on the boundary since 8 October, when Hezbollah began what was at first a limited campaign of firing into Israel in support of Hamas’s war in Gaza, there has been no declaration of war and ambiguous signals from both sides about their intentions. FULL STORY

John Peter Rhys Williams, rugby player and orthopaedic surgeon, born 2 March 1949; died 8 January 2024 In the closing minutes of Wales’s Five Nations meeting with France at Cardiff Arms Park in March 1976, the home side were resisting an onslaught by the visitors when the French wing Jean-François Gourdon found some space on the touchline by the north stand. Gourdon was then hit by a shuddering shoulder charge from Wales’s full-back, JPR Williams, that all but sent him spinning into the crowd. Williams raised his fist in triumph and Wales held on to win 19-13 and complete a seventh grand slam. In truth, Williams’s tackle was far from legal, but the incident remains an indelible image in the minds of Welsh rugby supporters – that and a photograph of the Bridgend No 15 with blood pouring from his face after being trampled by a visiting All Blacks boot. International rugby in the 1970s was not for the squeamish, and JPR survived by being not just supremely skilful, but as hard as nails. JPR Williams being chaired off the Cardiff Arms Park pitch by fans after Wales beat England 27-3 in the Five Nations championship, 1979. Photograph: Colorsport Williams, who has died aged 74 from bacterial meningitis, would forever be known as JPR, the three most evocative initials in the sport. Only France’s Serge Blanco could rival him as the greatest full-back in history. When the law-makers of the international board prevented the ball from being kicked directly into touch in 1968 it gave the opportunity for Williams and others such as Scotland’s Andy Irvine to forge a template for how a modern attacking full-back should play. FULL ARTICLE

A federal appeals court on Tuesday signaled it would reject Donald Trump’s arguments that he cannot be criminally prosecuted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results because it involved actions he took while president, questioning such an expansive view of executive power. The three-judge panel at the US court of appeals for the DC circuit expressed particular skepticism with the position that he had absolute immunity from prosecution as Trump, attending in person, looked on. “I think it is paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed allows him to violate criminal law,” the circuit judge Karen Henderson, a George HW Bush appointee, told Trump’s lawyer John Sauer during the roughly 90-minute hearing in Washington. Last year, Trump filed a motion to dismiss the federal indictment brought by the special counsel Jack Smith, which charged the former president with seeking to reverse the 2020 election, including by advancing fake slates of electors and obstructing Congress on 6 January 2021. The motion was rejected by the trial judge, prompting Trump to appeal to the DC circuit. The special counsel sought to bypass the potentially lengthy appeals process by asking the US supreme court to directly intervene, but the nation’s highest court returned the case to the appeals court. Trump’s lawyer John Sauer received a cold response at the DC circuit and was even forced into conceding that presidents did not in fact have absolute immunity, after he acknowledged that presidents who were convicted in impeachment trials could be prosecuted. FULL STORY