Headline

Travellers In Britain Expected To Face Weekend Of Misery As Strike Begins

Published

4 years ago

June 5, 2022

Travellers in the UK have been told to expect a weekend of disruption at airports and on the railway network.

Rail passengers are being warned of significant disruption to services over the Bank Holiday weekend because of a strike by conductors.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at TransPennine Express walked out on Saturday and will strike again on Sunday in a long-running dispute over pay.

TransPennine Express has urged people not to travel, saying it will be running an amended timetable on both days, with a very limited service available for those making essential journeys.

People heading to events including jubilee celebrations were urged to seek alternative transport.

“We are saddened that continuing RMT strikes will mean we are unable to provide a full service for customers over such a special weekend, when celebrations will be taking place across the UK,” Kathryn O’Brien, customer experience director for TransPennine Express, said.

“With strike action planned for both Saturday and Sunday, coupled with major engineering work, our advice for customers is not to travel by train, and anyone heading to an event should seek alternative transport.”

Lengthy queues are expected at airport passport controls caused by a surge in people returning from jubilee getaways, while motoring group the AA spoke of delays on the roads as 19 million drivers were expected to get behind the wheel.

In London, Tube workers are expected to head out on strike on Monday after talks aimed at avoiding a strike by subway station staff collapsed.

“We will keep as many stations as possible open, but we expect that this strike will cause severe disruption and the closure of many Tube stations,” Transport for London said in a statement, adding commuters should avoid travelling.

Britons have had a four-day weekend for Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum Jubilee and many have chosen to go overseas.

Travellers will return home on Sunday, testing the capacity of road networks and airports’ ability to process arrivals.

Disruption on Sunday and Monday would be the latest headache in the UK after the Easter holiday led to delays on the rail, road and air travel networks. For Londoners, the Tube strike means disruption will spill into Tuesday.

“We expect the severe disruption caused by this strike to continue into the morning of Tuesday 7 June, and I’m sorry for the impact this will have on people’s journeys next week,” Transport for London’s chief operating officer Andy Lord said in a statement.

After cutting jobs during coronavirus lockdowns, airports and airlines have struggled to hire enough workers to cope with a return to full capacity.

Gatwick Airport has in excess of 40 per cent fewer direct employees than it did before the pandemic started.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has called for help from British military personnel to help deal with the disruption.

“Bringing in the army, which they do at many other European airports, would, at a stroke, relieve the pressure on airport security and would mean that people have a much better experience — not just this weekend, but for each weekend over the next three, four months,” he told ITV News.

More than 10,000 flights have left the UK over the four-day weekend, according to data from analytics firm Cirium.

Airlines have asked the government to relax its immigration rules for European citizens to help them hire staff.

The UK has recorded a loss of European Union nationals because of the combined impact of Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic, leaving many companies with staffing shortages.

Headline

Woman Passes Out After Receiving 100 Strokes Of Cane

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

A woman has passed out after she and her partner were each flogged 100 times in public for engaging in sex outside marriage under strict Sharia laws in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was later carried away after the punishment was carried out in Banda Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island on Thursday.

A masked official dressed in brown robes administered the caning before members of the public who gathered to witness the punishment.

Her partner was also seen wincing in pain while receiving the lashes.

The pair were among several individuals punished for violating Sharia regulations in the province.

Authorities from the Banda Aceh Sharia Court and the Prosecutor’s Office handed down punishments ranging from 25 to 100 lashes for offences including extramarital sex allegedly arranged through online applications.

Aceh remains the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia operating under Sharia law, where unmarried couples are prohibited from having sexual relations.

Caning is commonly used in the province as punishment for offences such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations and sex outside marriage.

Under Aceh’s Sharia regulations, child rape offenders face some of the harshest penalties, including up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of as long as 200 months or fines equivalent to two kilograms of gold.

The punishments are usually carried out publicly as a way of shaming offenders in addition to inflicting physical pain.

Such canings are often conducted outside mosques or in open public spaces, with residents watching and taking photographs during the exercise.

Human rights organisations have continued to condemn the practice, arguing that it causes emotional trauma and violates international human rights standards.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticised the punishments, saying they conflict with Indonesia’s constitution and global legal obligations.

Amnesty said in a statement: “Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.

‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’”

Despite the criticism, local authorities have defended the punishments as part of Aceh’s religious and cultural identity, insisting they serve as a deterrent against immoral behaviour.

Earlier in January, another couple in the province reportedly received 140 lashes each after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and engaging in sex outside marriage.

(Daily Mail)

Headline

Senegal’s President Sacks Prime Minister After Months-long Feud

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government following months of rising political tension between the two former allies.

The decision was announced in a surprise decree read on national television by a presidential aide, stating that Faye had “ended the duties” of Sonko and “consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government”.

Sonko, who remains a highly influential figure among Senegal’s youth, responded on social media, saying he would “sleep with a light heart”.

The political fallout comes at a time of growing economic strain in the country, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) putting Senegal’s public debt at 132% of its GDP.

His removal followed a tense parliamentary session on Tuesday, where Sonko openly criticised President Faye’s handling of the debt situation.

The development is striking given that Faye’s rise to power was largely tied to Sonko’s popularity and political backing.

Sonko would almost certainly have contested the presidency himself in 2024, but was barred from the race due to a defamation conviction. Instead, he threw his support behind Faye, rallying voters with the slogan “Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye”.

The alliance helped unseat former President Macky Sall in a dramatic electoral victory, despite both men having been released from prison only days before the vote.

Tensions between the two leaders had been building for months, with Faye reportedly accusing Sonko of excessive dominance within the ruling Pastef party, while Sonko accused the president of weak leadership and failing to defend him against critics.

(BBC News)

Headline

Six Nigerians Arrested In Thailand Over AI-Powered Romance Scam

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Six Nigerian nationals have been arrested by the Thailand Police Force for allegedly operating an AI-powered deepfake romance scam syndicate from a luxury condominium along the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi Province, following a cocaine trafficking investigation that exposed their activities.

Thai authorities said the operation began after police arrested a Nigerian suspect identified as Patrick and three associates in April over alleged drug trafficking offences. During the raid, officers reportedly seized assets valued at about 2.5 million baht.

Investigators said financial transactions linked to the suspects led them to several foreign nationals living in a high-end riverside condominium near Phra Nangklao Bridge in Nonthaburi. Police discovered that many of the occupants were staying in groups of five or six per apartment under student visas despite not being enrolled in any educational institution or engaged in lawful employment.

According to Thai police, officers executed search warrants on three condominium units on May 22. The suspects allegedly refused to open their doors, forcing authorities to break into the apartments.

Videos circulating on X captured the moment police officers forcefully gained entry into one of the apartments before arresting the suspects.

During the operation, one suspect reportedly attempted to escape by climbing over a balcony, while another was found hiding on the bathroom floor while allegedly sending warning messages to occupants in neighbouring units.

Police recovered 18 mobile phones, three laptop computers and three bank passbooks from the apartments. Authorities said some of the phones were still logged into active conversations with victims at the time of the raid.

Investigators alleged that the syndicate specialised in romance scams targeting older Thai women by using AI-generated faces and manipulated video calls to create fake online identities.

The suspects allegedly posed as pilots, United States military officers, doctors and engineers to gain the trust of victims before requesting money under false pretences.

Police said the fraudsters typically claimed that valuable packages or gifts sent to victims had been withheld by customs officials and required payment of clearance fees before release.

Authorities also said they recovered scripts for sexually explicit conversations allegedly used to emotionally manipulate victims into transferring funds. Investigators claimed the group relied heavily on artificial intelligence technology to generate realistic Western faces for fake video interactions.

Thai police said all six suspects are currently facing preliminary charges bordering on illegal association and immigration overstay, while additional fraud and romance scam charges are expected to follow as investigations continue.