CharlieH

Dependent on HOW you renew, your current passport wil (should)l have its corner cut off etc you cannot (shouldnt) have 2 valid passports. The Passport Office will void existing number when issuinng new. Transfer existing visa etc into NEW passport, then make the application to renew Visa.

Contact [email protected] or Support. There is also a pinned topic at the top of this forum and various others around the forum like this....

Rishi Sunak has been accused of sending out the wrong signals on tackling the climate emergency as he heads to the Cop28 summit in Dubai after saying his revised net zero targets show he is “not in hock to the ideological zealots”. The prime minister will allocate about £1.6bn of climate finance during the summit and claim that the UK will exceed its target of spending £11.6bn over the five years to 2026. But he faces accusations from charities and non-governmental organisations that the UK is on track to meet the target only by changing the way it calculates climate aid – and otherwise would fall far short of the total. Before the summit, Sunak also chose to emphasise his “pragmatic” approach to tackling the climate crisis, having two months ago decided to water down his net zero targets on phasing out petrol cars and gas boilers. “The transition to net zero should make us all safer and better off,” he said on Thursday. “It must benefit, not burden, ordinary families. The UK has led the way in taking pragmatic, long-term decisions at home – and at Cop28 we will lead international efforts to protect the world’s forests, turbocharge renewable energy and leverage the full weight of private finance.” He also claimed that ambitious pledges to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees were enough and “the time for pledges is now over – this is the era for action”. Sunak said: “I’m not in hock to ideological zealots on this topic. Of course we’re going to get to net zero, of course it’s important, but we can do that in a sensible way that saves people money and doesn’t burden them with extra costs.” Sunak’s approach was criticised by Keir Starmer, who will also attend the summit. FULL STORY

A royal author has said an investigation is under way into how the Dutch version of his new book named two senior members of the British royal family alleged to have discussed the skin colour of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s unborn son. In an edition that has now been withdrawn from bookshelves, King Charles and the Princess of Wales were named as taking part in conversations about Prince Archie before his birth, according to allegations in the book that have been broadcast on TV programmes in the UK and the Netherlands. The book claims conversations about Archie related to how it opened up discussions about whether there was “unconscious bias” in the royal family. Buckingham Palace declined to respond on Thursday. “It is not something we are going to comment on,” a spokesperson told the Guardian. The broadcaster Piers Morgan used his TalkTV show on Wednesday to name the royals mentioned in a now pulled and pulped translated version of Omid Scobie’s book Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival. Speaking to ITV’s This Morning on Thursday, Scobie insisted he had “never submitted a book that had their names in it”, and could only talk about the English version that he wrote. He said he had never used the word “racist”, and that his book referred to “unconscious bias”. He claimed other Fleet Street journalists had “known those names for a long time”. He said the inclusion of the names was “still being investigated right now. I wrote and edited the English version of the book with one publisher. That then gets licensed to other publishers. I obviously can’t speak Italian, German, French, Dutch or any of the other languages. So the only time you hear about the book is once it’s come out in the public domain. FULL STORY

French mounted police outside the Great Mosque of Paris in 2020. The French Muslim Council said 17 mosques had received threatening letters since Hamas’s attack on Israel. Photograph: Thomas Coex/AFP Anti-racism officials across Europe have called on law enforcement agencies to remain alert for hate crimes against Muslims and “spare no effort” to protect them, in one of the first statements aimed at addressing a rise in Islamophobia amid the Israel-Hamas war. The statement, signed by representatives from 10 European countries as well as EU officials, notes the rising number of hate crimes, hate speech and threats to civil liberties that have targeted Muslim and Jewish communities across Europe in recent months. Both “have become targets of physical and verbal attacks”, with people feeling “more and more unsafe and threatened, online and offline”, it read. Addressing Islamophobia in particular, the group said it was “deeply concerned” for Muslims. “Such phenomena, if not addressed, can threaten social cohesion within our societies and can expose vulnerable communities to further harms,” it said. The statement comes as tensions surge across the continent, leaving officials scrambling to contain a rise in hate crimes that have included an attempted arson on a synagogue in Berlin and more than 1,000 antisemitic acts in France. “Antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred are equally reprehensible,” officials noted in the statement, published on Wednesday. FULL STORY

The wife of the New York judge overseeing former President Trump’s ongoing civil fraud trial is the latest target of Trump’s rage online. Trump took aim at Judge Arthur Engoron’s wife, Dawn Engoron, in a series of posts Tuesday afternoon, purporting that an account on X — formerly Twitter — that made several anti-Trump posts belongs to her. The posts by “Dawn Marie,” which were first unearthed by conservative activist Laura Loomer, say Trump is “headed to the big house,” referring to prison, and remark on his ongoing trial. Two posts show what appears to be AI illustrations of the former president in an orange jumpsuit, and another depicts him as the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz.” “Judge Engoron’s Trump Hating wife, together with his very disturbed and angry law clerk, have taken over control of the New York State Witch Hunt Trial aimed at me, my family, and the Republican Party,” Trump wrote Wednesday in a Truth Social post. In a statement to The Hill, Dawn Engoron denied association with the account. “The Twitter account with the handel [sic] @dm_sminxs does not belong to me. I do not have a Twitter account. I have never posted any anti Trump messages,” she wrote in an email. FULL STORY

Russia's Supreme Court has declared what it calls "the international LGBT public movement" an extremist organisation and banned its activities across the country. The ruling was prompted by a motion from the justice ministry, even though no such organisation exists as a legal entity. The hearing was held behind closed doors, but reporters were allowed in to hear the court's decision. Nobody from "the defendant's side" had been present, the court said. Russia's constitution was changed three years ago to make it clear that marriage means a union between a man and a woman. Same-sex unions are not recognised here. Ahead of the ruling, I asked Sergei Troshin, a municipal deputy in St Petersburg who came out as gay last year, what effect it would have. "I think this will mean that anyone whom the state considers an LGBT activist could receive a long prison sentence for 'participating in an extremist organisation'," he said. "For the organiser of such a group, the prison term will be even longer. "This is real repression. There is panic in Russia's LGBT community. People are emigrating urgently. The actual word we're using is evacuation. We're having to evacuate from our own country. It's terrible." FULL STORY

New satellite images commissioned by the BBC reveal the extent of destruction across northern Gaza, before the start of the temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The satellite images were taken last Thursday, just before the suspension of hostilities came into force, following weeks of Israeli air strikes and on-the-ground fighting. Separate satellite data analysis also provides a snapshot of the destruction across the whole of Gaza. Drone footage and verified video also show buildings and entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble. While northern Gaza has been the focus of the Israeli ground offensive and has borne the brunt of the destruction, widespread damage extends across the entire strip. Israel says northern Gaza, which includes the major urban centre of Gaza City, was a "centre of gravity of Hamas", the group behind the deadly 7 October attacks on Israel. Israel says its bombing campaign has successfully targeted Hamas commanders and fighters and accuses the group of embedding itself in civilian areas. Satellite data analysis suggests that almost 98,000 buildings across the whole Gaza Strip may have suffered damage, with most of it concentrated in the north - as shown in the above map. FULL STORY

Some have mentioned Porn, I have never understood the attraction etc as its predictable , repetitive, you know literally what's going to happen and how it ends. Never been interested except as kid when I hadn't yet had the real thing, but as an adult, just never appealed to me, later in life couldn't be bothered. Takes allsorts I guess, each to their own and all that.

Is this for a PC or a phone ? Device an operating system please.

Henry Kissinger, a former US secretary of state and national security adviser who escaped Nazi Germany in his youth to become one of the most influential and controversial foreign policy figures in American history, has died, according to a statement from his consulting firm, Kissinger Associates. He was 100. Kissinger was synonymous with US foreign policy in the 1970s. He received a Nobel Peace Prize for helping arrange the end of US military involvement in the Vietnam War and is credited with secret diplomacy that helped President Richard Nixon open communist China to the United States and the West, highlighted by Nixon’s visit to the country in 1972. But he was also reviled by many over the bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War that led to the rise of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime and for his support of a coup against a democratic government in Chile. In the Middle East, Kissinger performed what came to be known as “shuttle diplomacy” to separate Israeli and Arab forces after the fallout of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. His “détente” approach to US-Soviet relations, which helped relax tensions and led to several arms control agreements, largely guided US posture until the Reagan era. But many members of Congress objected to the secretiveness of the Nixon-Kissinger approach to foreign policy, and human rights activists assailed what they saw as Kissinger’s neglect of human rights in other countries. No issue complicated Kissinger’s legacy more than the Vietnam War. When Nixon took office in 1969 – after promising a “secret plan” to end the war – roughly 30,000 Americans had been killed in Vietnam. FULL STORY

True, some would say the whole period is just a commercial event. and the "true meaning" has been lost a long time ago. I still think its a nice time of year for families to come together etc.

Air pollution from fossil fuel use is killing 5 million people worldwide every year, a death toll much higher than previously estimated, according to the largest study of its kind. The stark figures, published on the eve of the Cop28 climate summit in Dubai, will increase pressure on world leaders to take action. Among the decisions they must make at the UN conference will be whether to agree, for the first time, to gradually “phase out” fossil fuels. Research has shown that switching from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy sources would save many lives from air pollution and help combat global heating. However, until now, mortality estimates have varied widely. A new modelling study suggests air pollution, from the use of fossil fuels in industry, power generation, and transportation, accounts for 5.1 million avoidable deaths a year globally. These findings were published in The BMJ. The contribution of fossil fuels equates to 61% of a total estimated 8.3 million deaths worldwide due to outdoor air pollution from all sources in 2019. The new estimates of fossil fuel-related deaths are larger than most previously reported values, suggesting that phasing out fossil fuels might have a greater impact on attributable mortality than previously thought. FULL STORY

A 10-month-old baby who was the youngest hostage kidnapped and taken to Gaza has reportedly been killed in an Israeli bombing alongside his mother and brother, Hamas has claimed. Kfir Bibas was taken from the Nir Oz kibbutz along with his four-year-old brother, Ariel, and their mother, Shiri. His father, Yarden, was also abducted during the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 240 taken hostage. Footage of the family’s abduction showed a terrified Shiri clutching her two sons as they were bundled away. Yarden appeared in a separate video with an apparent head injury. Earlier on Wednesday relatives said their loved ones were not among the hostages due to be released as negotiations to extend the truce continued. Shortly before Wednesday’s planned release of women and children, the military wing of Hamas said Kfir had been killed in an earlier Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip, along with his brother and their mother. Yarden was not mentioned. In a statement released through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the relatives said: “Our family has learned of Hamas’s latest claims. We are waiting for the information to be confirmed and hopefully refuted by military officials. We thank the people of Israel for their warm support but kindly request privacy during this difficult time.” The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was trying to verifying the claims. It said in a statement: “IDF representatives spoke with the Bibas family following the recent reports and are with them at this difficult time. The IDF is assessing the accuracy of the information. “Hamas is wholly responsible for the security of all hostages in the Gaza Strip. Hamas must be held accountable. Hamas’s actions continue to endanger the hostages, which include nine children. Hamas must immediately release our hostages.” FULL STORY

James Cohen, a longtime Republican voter from Virginia Beach, said support for Ukraine has remained pretty strong in his GOP circles. But he’s grown increasingly concerned as the party splinters over supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia. Cohen, 60, blames the worrying trend on divisive politics and general anger with President Biden less than a year out from the 2024 election. “Biden is seen as incompetent and corrupt. So unfortunately, the way politics works, it’s guilt by association,” he said. “Where they stand on funding, whether it’s Ukraine or anything else, it’s very polarized.” But Cohen, who has extended relatives in Ukraine, said his party needs to understand that failing to stop Russia now would be “strategic suicide” and potentially widen the conflict in Europe. “Right now, we’ve got a situation where America has to decide: Do we want to support an ally?” he asked. “Or do we want to wait until we have World War III, and we’ve got to send our kids over there?” On the other side of the growing GOP divide over Ukraine is Dave Culpepper, a lifelong Republican from Chesapeake, Va. He said the U.S. is “throwing money” at a war while deeply in debt and with “no clear objective” to end the conflict. “The fact that it’s gone on as long as it has, tells me that there’s more going on here,” he said. “And we taxpayers are footing the bill for it. That seems to me the only objective — to spend money.” FULL STORY

Tech billionaire Elon Musk told the companies pulling advertisements from X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to “go f— yourself” following the companies’ decision to nix ads from the platform after Musk appeared to endorse an antisemitic remark earlier this week. Asked Wednesday in an interview at The New York Times Dealbook Summit if he does not want the companies to advertise, Musk responded, “Don’t advertise. If someone is going to try and blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f— yourself.” Musk was responding to Disney CEO Bob Iger’s previous comments during the summit where he explained the company’s decision to slash advertisements from X. “Go f— yourself, is that clear? Hey Bob, if you’re in the audience. That’s how I feel, don’t advertise,” Musk continued. The comment prompted some laughs from the audience. Musk came under fire earlier this month after he appeared to endorse an antisemitic conspiracy theory. The post sparked widespread criticism of the X owner, who later said that claims he is antisemitic “couldn’t be farther from the truth.” Days later, liberal watchdog Media Matters for America released a report that said it found ads for companies including Apple, Bravo, Oracle, Xfinity and IBM placed next to posts celebrating Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party on the platform. Several companies, including Disney and Apple, halted their ad spending in the wake of the report. Musk is suing Media Matters in response, calling the report a “fraudulent attack.” FULL STORY

And yet all the shopping malls etc have Christmas trees, supermarkets have Christmas stock and decorations everywhere.😀

Waste of money or Festive Fun ?