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Change of address
The owner of place you are moving to will/should do a TM30. Ask about the TM30 prior to renting. It's a very simple thing for owner to complete. -
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UK Macron Blames Brexit for Channel Migrant Surge as UK-French Deal Faces Turmoil
One of the reasons we voted to leave was to not to have our justice and laws, and our Human Rights decided my us, and not controlled by Brussels. -
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Report How hundreds of Irish babies came to be buried in a secret mass grave
An investigation is underway in Tuam, County Galway, where authorities have begun excavation work on a suspected mass grave at the site of a former mother-and-baby institution. The two-year operation began Monday on a small plot of grass adjacent to a children’s playground, where remains of nearly 800 children are believed to be buried. The location was once home to St Mary’s, a church-run facility that housed unmarried pregnant women and their children between 1925 and 1961. Many of the children were separated from their mothers shortly after birth. Death records list the first child to die at the home as Patrick Derrane in 1925, and the last as Mary Carty in 1960. In total, 796 children are recorded to have died during those 35 years. The area where the bodies are believed to lie was previously labelled a sewage tank on 1929 site maps. PJ Haverty, who spent his early childhood at the home, described it as a prison and recalled being socially excluded at school. "We had to arrive 10 minutes late and leave 10 minutes early," he said. "You were dirt from the street." The site's past remained largely hidden until 2014, when amateur historian Catherine Corless uncovered death records but found no corresponding burial records for the deceased children. Her investigation began in 2005, initially sparked by a local history course. Catherine found resistance and a lack of documentation during her inquiries, but a key lead came from a cemetery caretaker who recalled that two boys had uncovered bones under a broken concrete slab in the 1970s. At the time, the discovery was believed to be linked to famine-era burials, but maps and other evidence led Catherine to question that assumption. Comparing historical maps, she found a 1929 reference to a sewage tank and a handwritten 1970s note referring to the area as a "burial ground." She later obtained a list from the local registration office that confirmed 796 child deaths at the home. None appeared in official cemetery records. Mary Moriarty, a resident of the estate in the 1970s, also gave testimony about seeing bundles of what she believed to be infant remains. She described falling into a hole at the site and finding small wrapped bundles packed in rows. In 2017, a government inquiry confirmed the presence of "significant quantities" of human remains at the location. The age range of the remains was between approximately 35 weeks gestation and two to three years old. Anna Corrigan, who founded the Tuam Babies Family Group, discovered in 2012 that she had two brothers born at the home, John and William. John's death was recorded at 16 months, but no burial location was found. William's burial remains unknown. The current excavation is being overseen by Daniel MacSweeney, an expert in post-conflict recovery. He noted the difficulty in identifying remains, stating that infant bones are extremely small and often intermingled. The operation marks the first of its kind and is expected to take up to two years. Families and campaigners hope the process will finally bring answers for the many relatives of the children believed to be buried at the site. Adapted from original story by BBC -
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Middle East Children fetching water killed in Israeli strike in Gaza
An Israeli airstrike in central Gaza on Sunday killed 10 civilians, including six children, as they waited to collect water, according to emergency responders. The victims’ bodies were brought to al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, where 16 others — including seven children — were also treated for injuries, a local doctor confirmed. Eyewitnesses reported that a drone launched a missile at a crowd gathered around a water tanker in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, where residents had lined up with empty containers. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged the incident, attributing it to a "technical error" during an operation targeting a suspected Islamic Jihad member. The missile reportedly landed dozens of meters off target. The IDF stated the strike is under review and reiterated its efforts to avoid civilian casualties, expressing regret for unintended harm. Graphic, unverified footage shared online appeared to show injured and lifeless children amid scenes of chaos, as residents transported victims in private vehicles and donkey carts. Sunday’s strike was one of many amid intensifying aerial attacks across Gaza. According to Gaza’s Civil Defence Agency, 19 more Palestinians were killed in three separate strikes on residential buildings in Gaza City and central Gaza. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported a surge in mass casualty cases at its field hospital in Rafah. On Saturday alone, it received 132 patients with weapon-related injuries; 31 of them died. The ICRC noted most injuries were gunshot wounds, and patients said they had been trying to reach food distribution points. Since late May, the Rafah facility has treated over 3,400 people with such injuries, with more than 250 fatalities. The ICRC said this exceeds the total number of mass casualty cases handled there during the entire previous year, underscoring the severity of the current situation. Separately, 24 people were reportedly killed near an aid distribution site in southern Gaza on Saturday, with witnesses claiming Israeli troops opened fire as civilians sought food. The IDF stated it was unaware of any injuries from its fire in that area, but an official said warning shots had been used to disperse perceived threats. The UN’s human rights office reported 789 aid-related deaths so far, with 615 occurring near facilities operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US and Israeli-backed initiative staffed by private contractors. The remaining 183 deaths occurred near UN and other aid convoys. The GHF rejected the UN figures as "false and misleading," citing reliance on data from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. GHF head Johnnie Moore acknowledged fatalities near their sites but disputed claims that all were linked to GHF’s presence. Israel has barred international media, including the BBC, from entering Gaza, limiting independent verification of events on the ground. The ongoing conflict began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault on Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 kidnapped. In response, Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza. According to the Hamas-run health ministry, the death toll in Gaza has now surpassed 57,800. The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate. Over 90% of homes are believed to be damaged or destroyed, and critical infrastructure for healthcare, water, sanitation, and food distribution is on the brink of collapse. On Friday, the UN reported that just 75,000 liters of fuel were allowed into Gaza for the first time in 130 days — a fraction of what is needed daily. Nine UN agencies have warned that fuel shortages are reaching catastrophic levels, threatening the functionality of hospitals, water supplies, sanitation systems, and bakeries. “Without fuel, hospitals go dark, critical care units shut down, and ambulances can no longer operate,” a UN statement said. Adapted from the BBC 13-07-2025 -
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UK Labour Reinstates Supplementary Voting for Mayors Amid Reform UK Gains
Labour Reinstates Supplementary Voting for Mayors Amid Reform UK Gains The Labour government is set to overhaul the mayoral voting system in England in a move that could reshape the political landscape ahead of next year’s elections. Deputy Prime Minister and Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner has announced the reintroduction of the supplementary vote system, replacing the first-past-the-post method, which critics say unfairly benefits parties like Reform UK. The decision comes just months after Reform UK made significant gains in the May local elections, winning mayoralties in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire. One of those victories was secured with just 35 per cent of the vote—enough to win under the current first-past-the-post rules. Reform’s growing popularity, particularly in areas traditionally hostile to the Right, has prompted concern among Labour strategists that the vote-splitting effect among Left-leaning parties could lead to more unexpected losses. Angela Rayner framed the voting system change as part of a broader “radical reset,” saying, “We were elected on a promise of change, not just for a few areas cherry-picked by a Whitehall spreadsheet, but for the entire country. It was never going to be easy to deliver the growth our country desperately needed with the inheritance we were dumped with. But that’s why we are opting to devolve not dictate and delivering a Bill that will rebalance decade-old divides and empower communities. We’re ushering in a new dawn of regional power and bringing decision-making to a local level so that no single street or household is left behind and every community thrives from our Plan for Change.” Under the reintroduced supplementary vote system, voters rank candidates by preference. If no candidate gains more than 50 per cent of the first-choice votes, all but the top two are eliminated, and second-preference votes are distributed. This format had previously been used in London’s mayoral elections, helping Labour’s Sadiq Khan to victory in 2021, when he went from 40 per cent in the first round to a final tally of 55.2 per cent after second preferences were counted. Critics within Reform UK see the move as a calculated effort to blunt their recent momentum. A party spokesperson told The Telegraph, “Labour is now trying to stitch up next year’s mayoral elections in a deeply cynical attempt to diminish the success of Reform. We are on track to replicate our successes this May in next year’s elections, so it’s no wonder they are doing this now.” Reform, led by Nigel Farage, had pledged in previous manifestos to pursue electoral reform, favoring proportional representation. However, the surge in their popularity—currently polling at 30 per cent—has made them one of the biggest beneficiaries of first-past-the-post. In one notable example, Reform nearly captured the West of England mayoralty despite securing less than 25 per cent of the vote, thanks to a split among Labour, Green, and Liberal Democrat candidates. Their candidate, Arron Banks, came within 6,000 votes of victory. Despite the gains, the return to supplementary voting could hinder Reform’s chances in future contests, especially in Left-leaning urban areas where progressive voters are likely to coordinate more effectively through ranked preferences. This system has historically helped Labour by capturing second-choice support from Green, Lib Dem, and independent Left voters—a dynamic that Reform strategists fear could stall their rise. Labour has long struggled with the fragmentation of the Left vote under first-past-the-post, while the Conservatives benefited from a more unified base. But with the rise of Reform UK now threatening to splinter the Right, the political calculation has shifted. The supplementary vote could serve as a critical buffer for Labour as it seeks to consolidate control in England’s growing patchwork of devolved mayoralties. With the next London mayoral election not due until 2028, attention is already turning to potential candidates. Labour MP Dawn Butler has expressed interest in running, while Reform is reportedly seeking a high-profile figure to run on a tough-on-crime platform. Whether the voting change will be enough to contain Reform’s challenge remains to be seen, but Labour is making clear it intends to tilt the field back in its favor. Adapted by ASEAN Now from Daily Telegraph 2025-07-14
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