Sir Keir Starmer has called on resident doctors to accept a deal to prevent “reckless” strikes next week, describing it as “beyond belief” that they would go ahead amid a “super flu” outbreak.

He warned the NHS is at its “most precarious moment” since the coronavirus pandemic, with flu cases at record levels for this time of year.

In an op-ed for The Guardian, the prime minister says the strikes “should not happen.”

“They are reckless. They place the NHS and patients who need it in grave danger.

“I remain hopeful they can be averted.

“A favourable deal is on the table, and the British Medical Association (BMA) is putting it to members this weekend.

“My message to the doctors is simple – take it,” he wrote.

Union members are currently voting on a new government offer that could prevent the planned walkout. If medics reject the deal, strikes are set to run for five consecutive days starting at 7am on 17 December.

Sir Keir said the latest offer would allow the BMA to postpone strikes until after Christmas.

A super flu epidemic is now sweeping.

He said, “The ‘super flu’ epidemic now sweeping the country means this is the NHS’s most precarious moment since the pandemic.”

This means a “battle” in hospitals across the country where NHS staff will work around the clock, he added.

Sir Keir said, “In fact, resident doctors’ colleagues will be cancelling operations, their Christmas leave, and preparing for this coming storm.”

“It is simply unimaginable that strikes could still occur in this situation.”

A new YouGov poll shows low public support for the strikes, with 58% somewhat or strongly opposing the action, compared with 33% who somewhat or strongly back it.

Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said, “Patients are pleading with resident doctors not to abandon them this Christmas.

“With flu sweeping across the nation and the health service under enormous pressure, these cynical Christmas strikes are the very last thing the NHS needs.”

The BMA’s online vote on the government’s deal will end on Monday, two days ahead of the planned five-day strike.

Flu outbreaks affecting school attendance

Flu outbreaks are affecting student attendance and school staffing; following multiple school disruptions, officials have said.

A Cornwall school closed this week due to “unprecedented and increasing incidences” of flu and strep, after several other recent closures.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said, “We have seen flu outbreaks in schools having an impact on both pupil attendance and staffing levels.”

According to Paul Whiteman, schools will take all necessary steps to minimise the risk of infection spreading, with closure being the final option.

Radwinter Church of England Primary School in Essex will be closed on Monday due to a norovirus outbreak, according to the county council website.

Last week, St Martin’s School in Caerphilly closed after over 250 pupils and staff fell ill.

In November, Congleton High School in Cheshire temporarily shut for a deep clean following several illness cases.

NHS data released Thursday show that flu hospitalisations in England remain at a record high for this time of year, rising 55% in just one week.

India’s IPO street is set to be crowded next week, with fresh offerings opening for subscription and a long list of companies preparing to ring the opening bell on the stock exchanges.

The primary market will see four new public issues with a combined size of about Rs 830 crore opening in the third week of December.

The largest among them is KSH International’s mainboard IPO, even as market participants track a busy listing schedule that includes nearly 15 companies.

High-profile names such as ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company, Corona Remedies and Park Medi World are among those set to debut, keeping investor interest elevated. ICICI Prudential AMC is emerging as the most closely followed listing of the week.

The issue recorded a steady start, with subscriptions crossing the 50% mark on the first day. In the grey market,

IPO price, reflecting positive sentiment

The stock is trading at a premium of Rs 249, translating into an 11% premium over the IPO price, reflecting positive sentiment around its debut, ET reported. In the unofficial market, Corona Remedies is also seeing strong interest, with a grey market premium of about 30% over its issue price.

Nephrocare is trading at a GMP of 7%, pointing to moderate expectations, while Wakefit is showing a marginal premium of around 5%. Within the SME segment, KV Toys stands out, commanding a GMP of 63%, while other SME issues are witnessing relatively muted interest.

On the new issue front, KSH International will open its IPO on Tuesday, December 16, and close on Thursday, December 18. The issue is priced between Rs 365 and Rs 384 per share and is sized at roughly Rs 710 crore. Shares will be listed on both the BSE and the NSE.

The IPO is being managed by Nuvama Wealth Management and is the biggest opening of the week, with its performance expected to influence overall sentiment in the primary market after a heavy issuance calendar in December, as reported by ET.

Activity in the SME space remains steady. Neptune Logitek will open its Rs 46.62 crore IPO on Monday, December 15, with subscriptions closing on Wednesday, December 17.

The company is offering shares at a fixed price of Rs 126 and will list on the BSE SME platform. Galactico Corporate Advisors is the lead manager for the issue. Later in the week,

MARC Technocrats will launch its IPO on Wednesday, December 17, closing on Friday, December 19. The Rs 42.59 crore issue is priced in a band of Rs 88 to Rs 93 per share and will list on the NSE SME platform, with Narnolia Financial Services acting as the book-running lead manager.

On the same day, Global Ocean Logistics India will also open its IPO, offering shares in the price range of Rs 74 to Rs 78. The Rs 30.41 crore issue will be listed on the BSE SME exchange and is being managed by Marwadi Chandarana Intermediaries.

Next week, we will firmly focus on listings, not on subscriptions. With around 15 companies expected to hit the market, it is shaping up to be one of the most crowded listing weeks of the year, led by ICICI Prudential AMC and supported by other well-known entrants such as Corona Remedies and Park Medi World.

• Convoy targeted during key leader engagement.
• Three US soldiers wounded in attack: Centcom.
• The US ambassador to Türkiye condemns the attack.
  

Two US Army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed on Saturday by a suspected Daesh attacker who targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces, the US military said.

The attacker was a member of the Syrian security forces, three local officials told Reuters. A Syrian Interior Ministry spokesperson told a state-run television channel that the man did not have a leadership role in the security forces.

“On December 10, an evaluation was issued indicating that this attacker might hold extremist ideas, and a decision regarding him was due to be issued tomorrow, on Sunday,” the spokesperson, Noureddine el-Baba, told Syrian television channel Al-Ikhbariya.

Central Command says the attacker was killed

Three US soldiers were also wounded in the attack, the US military’s Central Command said.

In a statement, Central Command said the attack by a lone gunman occurred “as the soldiers were conducting a key leader engagement” in the central Syrian town of Palmyra.

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth wrote in a social media post that “Partner forces” killed the attacker.

A senior US official said initial assessments indicated that Daesh probably carried out the attack, although the militant group did not immediately claim responsibility.

It took place in an area not controlled by the Syrian government, the official said.

Baba said Syria had warned about the possibility of a Daesh attack in that region, but “coalition forces did not take the Syrian warnings… into account.”

He stated that Syria would ascertain whether the attacker was affiliated with Daesh or simply adhered to the group’s ideology.

The soldiers’ names will be withheld until 24 hours after the next-of-kin notification, the US military said.

US envoy condemns the attack

Syrian state news agency SANA quoted a security source as saying two Syrian service personnel were injured, without providing further details.

The source told SANA that American helicopters evacuated the injured to a US base in Syria’s Al-Tanf region near the Iraqi border.

Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Türkiye and special envoy to Syria, condemned the attack.

“We mourn the loss of three brave US service members and civilian personnel and wish a speedy recovery to the Syrian troops wounded in the attack,” Barrack said in a statement.

“We remain committed to defeating terrorism with our Syrian partners.”

The attack was barely a month after Syria announced it had signed a political cooperation agreement with the US-led coalition against Daesh, which coincided with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to the White House.

The coalition has carried out air strikes and ground operations in Syria targeting Daesh suspects in recent months, often with the involvement of Syria’s security forces.

Syria last month also carried out a nationwide campaign, arresting more than 70 people accused of links to the group.

The United States has troops stationed in northeastern Syria as part of a decade-long effort to help a Kurdish-led force there.

The end of a 28-day pause in small boat crossings has once again exposed the fragility of the migration debate.

For almost a month, no migrants were recorded arriving in the UK by small boat – the longest uninterrupted lull since 2018.

Quietly, ministers welcomed the timing. Public pressure over Channel crossings has remained intense, and the absence of arrivals offered a rare moment of political breathing space.

But Saturday’s new crossings have brought that pause to an abrupt end, reinforcing a long-running problem for successive governments: migration numbers are volatile, weather-dependent, and politically unforgiving.

December has always been one of the quietest months for Channel crossings. Cold temperatures, poor visibility and rough seas make the journey significantly more dangerous, and arrivals typically fall.

Critics argue that presenting the lull as progress risks mistaking seasonal conditions for policy success. The return of boats as soon as conditions eased underlines what campaigners describe as a “one in, one out” reality – any short-term dip can quickly be reversed.

Small-boat crossings have become a defining symbol.

This is significant due to the high political stakes involved. Small-boat crossings have become a defining symbol of government control over borders—or lack thereof.

The prime minister has repeatedly promised to stop the “vile trade” of migrants in the Channel, while the home secretary has set out a tougher stance focused on deterrence, faster removals, international cooperation and disrupting smuggling gangs.

Yet the numbers continue to test that claim. Total arrivals this year stand at 39,292, up from 36,816 at the same point last year—a rise of around 7 percent.

What Saturday’s crossings show is that migration policy rarely offers clean political wins. Governments want decisive moments – a turning point, a breakthrough – but the Channel does not operate to political timetables.

As winter passes and crossings inevitably rise again, the government will be judged not on short pauses, but on whether it can deliver sustained reductions without relying on the weather to do the work for it.

Source link

Next, the high street fashion giant is plotting a swoop on Russell & Bromley, the 145-year-old shoe retailer.

Sky News has learnt that Next, which has a market capitalisation of £16.6 billion, is among the parties in talks with Russell & Bromley’s advisers about a deal.

City sources said this weekend that several other suitors were also in the frame to make an investment in the chain, although their identities were unclear.

The talks come during the busy Christmas shopping season, with retail bosses hopeful that consumer confidence holds up over the coming weeks despite the stuttering economy.

Russell & Bromley confirmed several weeks ago that it had drafted in Interpath, the advisory firm, to explore options for raising new financing for the business.

The chain trades from 37 stores and employs more than 450 people.

The first Russell & Bromley store opened in Eastbourne in 1880, forming the chain.

Seven years earlier, George Bromley and Elizabeth Russell, both of whom hailed from shoemaking families, were married, paving the way for the establishment of the business.

Andrew Bromley, the fifth generation of his family, currently leads Russell & Bromley.

Billie Piper, the actress and singer, is the current face of the brand as it tries to appeal to younger consumers as part of a five-year turnaround plan.

If it materialised, an acquisition or investment by Next would mark the latest in a string of brand deals struck by Britain’s most successful London-listed fashion retailer.

In recent years, it has bought brands such as Cath Kidston, Joules and Seraphine, the maternity wear retailer for knockdown prices.

Next also owns Made.com.

Next also owns Made.com, the online furniture retailer, and FatFace, the high street fashion brand.

Under Lord Wolfson, its veteran chief executive, Next has defied the wider high street gloom to become one of the UK’s best-run businesses.

Its Total Platform infrastructure solution has enabled it to plug in other retail brands to provide logistics, e-commerce and digital service capabilities.

Both Victoria’s Secret and Gap also have partnerships with Next using the Total Platform offering.

It was unclear whether any deal between Next and Russell & Bromley would involve acquiring the latter’s brand outright or making an investment into the business.

This weekend, Next declined to comment, while neither Russell & Bromley nor Interpath could be reached for comment.

In a statement in October, Mr Bromley said, “We are currently exploring opportunities to help take Russell & Bromley into the next phase of our ‘Re Boot’ vision.

“Since the announcement of the ‘Re Boot’ earlier this year, we have made significant progress, positioning us well to build on our momentum and continue along our journey.

“We are looking forward to working with our advisory team to secure the necessary investment to accelerate our expansion plans.”

After running amok in a Virginia liquor store, a raccoon passed out drunk, leading to suspicions of two other “break-ins”.

Images of smashed bottles and the animal splayed out next to the toilet went viral last week – but the woman who found him has revealed the raccoon has form.

“This is not the first time he’s been in one of the buildings. This is the third break-in he’s had,” said animal protection officer Samantha Martin.

“He was in the karate studio; I think he got into DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) – he ate some of their snacks one time.”

Ms Martin said the “smart little critter” had been removed both times from those businesses, which are in the same complex as the ABC liquor store in Ashland.

“Each time we’d get him out – we don’t relocate him – that’s a death sentence for raccoons but somehow he knows how to get back in this building,” she told local podcast Hear in Hanover.

The comatose raccoon was scooped off the floor and put in a crate to “let him relax for a few hours” at the animal shelter but was later set free.

“Around one or two o’clock that afternoon he was picking his head up, he was looking good and I released him back out in the woods,” said Ms Martin, who confirmed the raccoon was male.

Raccoons are well known for foraging in bins – earning them the “trash panda” nickname – and the animal shelter has seized the moment by partnering with a firm to sell merchandise.

“Trashed Panda” T-shirts, hoodies, mugs and stickers have already raised more than $180,000 (£135,000) to fund improvements at the animal shelter.

Fighting along the border between Thailand and Cambodia continues to rage – despite US President Donald Trump claiming to have secured a ceasefire agreement.

Official reports indicate that around two dozen people have lost their lives in the past week, while hundreds of thousands of others have had to flee their homes.

The latest clashes erupted after a skirmish last Sunday, which disrupted a previous ceasefire that Mr Trump had pushed.

On Friday, Mr. Trump said the two countries “have agreed to cease all shootings effective this evening and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me” on his Truth Social platform.

But fighting has continued on Saturday, and Thai leader Anutin Charnvirakul said his nation would “continue to perform military actions until we feel no more harm and threats to our land and people.”

The Thai defence ministry said jets carried out airstrikes on Saturday morning.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet also did not mention a ceasefire in comments posted on Saturday, insisting his country was “ready to cooperate in any way that is needed.”

Why are Thai and Cambodian troops fighting?

The Thai-Cambodian border conflict has its roots in a history of enmity over competing territorial claims.

These claims largely stem from a 1907 map created while Cambodia was under French colonial rule, which Thailand argues is inaccurate.

Tensions were heightened by a 1962 International Court of Justice ruling that awarded sovereignty to Cambodia, which still angers many Thais

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

1:37

What has happened to Trump’s peace ‘deals’?

A ceasefire in July was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through under pressure from Mr Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless the two sides agreed.

It was formalised in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that the US president attended.

However, the agreement did not resolve the status of the disputed territory, instead ushering in a tenuous ceasefire that ultimately failed to hold.

Fighting resumed on Sunday in a skirmish that wounded two Thai soldiers.

The apparent faltering or collapse of the ceasefire deal comes as a number of the peace agreements Mr Trump has touted in his quest for a Nobel Peace Prize have come under strain.

Fighting has surged in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, less than a week after the DRC and Rwanda signed a deal in Mr Trump’s presence.

Meanwhile, an internationally-endorsed plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is still not finalised and remains in limbo, with sporadic fighting continuing.

Source link