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National News

Sunak tells unions to halt strike action after offering public sector pay rises

It comes following recommendations from pay review bodies Rishi Sunak has urged unions to call off strike action after accepting recommendations for pay rises for millions of public sector workers. The Prime Minister accepted the recommendations from pay review bodies, including 6.5% increases for teachers in England for 2023-24, which education unions said could allow them to call off strike action. Junior doctors, who began their longest walkout yet in England on Thursday, will receive 6% rises, along with anRead More

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National News

Rayner admits Labours standards overhaul plan would still have role for PM

Angela Rayner has acknowledged that Labour’s proposed overhaul of the standards system would still involve “a role for the prime minister” of the day but promised greater powers for an independent ethics watchdog. The party’s deputy leader accepted that the process would not be entirely separate from politics but said improved transparency under the plans would ensure action is taken against rule-breaking. Labour has pledged to create a new Ethics and Integrity Commission if it wins the next election, which couldRead More

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Local News

Workers at major town factory could go on strike in frustration at pay offer

More than 100 workers at a major town business have balloted on potential strike action after being left frustrated by a “real terms pay cut”.Staff at Cooper Roller Bearings in South Lynn were asked yesterday if they wanted to take industrial action, according to the Unite trade union, after they rejected a 5.5% pay rise offer.They believe this effectively represents a pay cut due to it not matching the current rate of inflation.Staff at Cooper Roller Bearings have been askedRead More

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National News

Chinese intelligence targeting UK prolifically and aggressively

Chinese state intelligence targets the UK “prolifically and aggressively” in a way that poses a “challenge” for British intelligence agencies, Parliament’s spy agency watchdog has said. A new and wide-ranging report by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) is critical of the UK Government’s response to the threat posed by China, questioning the trade-off between economic interest and security concerns. It also raises concerns about Chinese influence in UK universities and the country’s intention to become a “permanent and significantRead More

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National News

Sarina Wiegman keeping out of discussions over World Cup bonuses

England manager Sarina Wiegman insisted she has not waded into a rumoured row surrounding World Cup bonuses. Wiegman’s side open their campaign in earnest on July 22 when they face Haiti in Brisbane, but they will first take on FIFA world number-seven ranked Olympic champions Canada behind closed doors on Friday at Queensland’s Sunshine Coast stadium. Some reports ahead of England’s arrival Down Under claimed the Lionesses were unhappy with the Football Association about performance-based payments, but Wiegman was adamant it has not been a topicRead More

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National News

Junior doctors mount picket lines as five day strike begins

Junior doctors have launched a five-day strike in what is being described as the longest walkout of its kind in the NHS’s history amid ongoing protests over pay in the health service. Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) in England mounted picket lines outside hospitals from 7am at the start of the walkout, which will cause huge disruption, affecting operations and consultations. Members of the union Unite at Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital Trust in London are also strikingRead More

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National News

Unprecedented attacks on 11 ambulance staff condemned as disgraceful

Eleven on-duty ambulance staff were assaulted over an “unprecedented” six-hour period on the eve before and in the early hours of the Twelfth of July. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said that the assaults took place at four different locations, when crews were responding to calls to provide medical treatment to patients requiring assistance. It said that five staff members were punched, kicked, bitten and spat at at a bonfire site in the Carrickfergus area, in what it calledRead More

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National News

Defence case in Kevin Spacey sex offences trial due to begin

The defence case in the sex offences trial of Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is set to begin Prosecutors concluded their evidence against the Hollywood star on Wednesday, after a jury panel heard accounts from his four alleged victims. The defendant, standing trial under his full name Kevin Spacey Fowler, was labelled a “sexual bully” when proceedings began last month. The 63-year-old denies charges including sexual assault and indecent assault, which are alleged to have been committed between 2001 and 2013.Read More

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Sport

End of an era, as martial arts school leaves home base of 35 years

It's an end of an era for the Mark Farnham Schools of Tae kwon-do, who have left their long-standing base at Providence Street after more than 35 years of making champions.The school - which is relocating to a new base at the Discovery Centre in Columbia Way - has used the Community Centre since first starting back in November 1987.A lot has happened since the first class with just four students all those years ago.The Mark Farnham Schools of TaeRead More

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