National News

The Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover has had a seasonal makeover, transforming the Fab Four into an official Christmas Jumper. The festive knitwear comes after the success of the group’s final song titled Now And Then – which recently topped the official UK singles chart for the first time in 54 years. The limited edition jumper features John Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ringo Starr and George Harrison each wearing

Wales are heading to the Euro 2024 play-offs after drawing 1-1 with Turkey on a dramatic night in Cardiff. Neco Williams’ seventh-minute goal – his third for Wales – offered hope they could bridge the two-point gap between them and Croatia for the second automatic qualifying spot. But Yusuf Yazici’s controversial penalty 20 minutes from time – awarded after Wales had three stronger spot-kick appeals rejected – handed Turkey a share of the spoils and

A community in Shropshire is grieving as an investigation continues into a car crash that left four teenagers dead. The bodies of Jevon Hirst, Harvey Owen, Wilf Henderson and Hugo Morris were recovered from a silver Ford Fiesta in Snowdonia, North Wales, on Tuesday. A search was launched for the teenagers after they failed to return home from an overnight camping trip to the Snowdonia area. North Wales Police said the bodies were

Israel’s Cabinet approved a ceasefire deal with the Hamas militant group that would bring a temporary halt to a devastating war that has stretched on for over six weeks. Hamas will release dozens of hostages being held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Under the deal, Hamas is to free 50 of the roughly 240 hostages it is holding in the Gaza Strip over a

Action should have been taken earlier against the spread of Covid-19, Sir Chris Whitty has said, though he denied warning ministers against lockdowns. In sometimes tense exchanges with Hugo Keith KC, lead counsel to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, England’s chief medical officer described how he had set out the downsides of locking down but argued that was not the same as saying it should not happen. Sir Chris was put

Half of adults who have conversations with strangers online do not check how old they are, research suggests. A survey of 2,558 people over the age of 16 for child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation found that a quarter of adults in the UK chat to people they do not know, with 55% not checking their age. The poll also suggested that one in 10 men (11%) over the

Government borrowing increased by more than expected last month according to official figures, but left Chancellor Jeremy Hunt with headroom for planned tax cuts in Wednesday’s autumn statement. Economists said the latest borrowing data will mean the Chancellor “won’t be able to resist the temptation to unveil a pre-election splash” of cuts. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing stood at £14.9 billion in October –

Public transport users in London are failing to claim thousands of lost property items handed in every week. Transport for London (TfL) is urging passengers who accidentally leave belongings on trains and buses to check if they have been retrieved. The transport authority moved its lost property office from South Kensington to West Ham last month to accommodate the rising number of objects being stored and to improve processing times.

The UK and South Korea are to launch talks on a new trade deal and sign a diplomatic accord as part of Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit. Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch will begin negotiations with her Korean counterpart Bang Moon Kyu at the UK-Korea Business Forum at Mansion House on Wednesday. They will also announce £21 billion of investments committed by Korean businesses in green energy