Foreign
Winter storm kills one, disrupts travel across Ireland, France, UK
Ireland, Britain, and France faced travel chaos on Saturday, and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow, and ice.
Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day.
Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic accident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident.
Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power and closed roads and some ferry and train routes on both sides of the Irish Sea.
Channel ports and airports in Britain were badly affected, while in France, tens of thousands remained without power after Storm Caetano on Thursday. Hundreds of passengers were stranded when trains were halted by power cuts.
Media footage showed flooding in the west of Ireland, which also caused rail closures in Northern Ireland. Snow impacted travel across Britain.
The heaviest snow hit Scotland and parts of northern and central England, with dozens of flood alerts in place.
The UK Met Office issued snow and ice warnings for those regions, saying there was a “good chance some rural communities could be cut off.”
Scottish hills could see up to 40 centimetres (16 inches) of snow, while winds approaching 113 kilometres (70 miles) per hour were recorded in Britain.
Ferry operator DFDS cancelled services on some routes until Monday, with sailings from Newhaven and Dover in southern England to Dieppe and Calais in France severely affected.
Flights were disrupted at Newcastle Airport due to heavy snow, with some flights diverted to Belfast and Edinburgh.
– Blackouts –
Avanti West Coast, which runs rail services between England and Scotland, advised customers not to attempt travel beyond the northern English city of Preston, as it cancelled numerous trains.
National Highways also issued a “severe weather alert,” warning of “blizzard conditions” affecting Yorkshire and northeast England, with a number of road closures announced.
Met Eireann, the Irish National Meteorological Service, also issued a warning for “very strong winds and heavy rain.”
The worst affected areas for power outages in Ireland were in western and northwestern counties, according to ESB Networks, which runs the country’s electricity system.
“Crews and contractors are deployed and restoring power in impacted areas where it is safe to do so,” it said.
In Britain, the National Grid operator said power had been restored to “many homes and businesses,” but more than 4,000 properties across the country were still without electricity on Saturday—the majority in southwest England.
Some 47,000 homes remained without power in northern France on Saturday, two days after the country was battered by Storm Caetano, power company Enedis said.
Up to 270,000 people had been cut off due to the storm, but Enedis said it had 2,000 technicians working to reconnect electricity lines torn down by winds of up to 130 kph.
Several hundred passengers were stranded on two trains in western France halted by power cuts.
Some 200 people on a train going from Hendaye to Bordeaux and 400 on a high-speed TGV going from Hendaye to Paris spent up to nine hours in the carriages.
Junior transport minister Francois Dourovray told RTL radio that up to 1,000 passengers on different trains were affected by the power cut.
AFP
The 31-year-old man, Cole Allen, who reportedly opened fire during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night, has told investigators that he deliberately targeted officials of the President Donald Trump administration, according to senior federal law enforcement sources familiar with the case.
Allen allegedly confessed after his arrest on Saturday night that his intention was to “shoot Trump administration officials,” investigators disclosed, according to Fox News.
The incident occurred at the Washington Hilton, where Allen reportedly forced his way through a Secret Service security checkpoint while armed with a shotgun, a handgun, knives, and other weapons.
He subsequently opened fire, hitting a Secret Service officer, whose ballistic vest prevented fatal injuries.
Law enforcement agents at the scene returned fire, but Allen was not struck. Both the injured officer and the suspect were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.
In the aftermath of the shooting, operatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), alongside local law enforcement, moved swiftly to secure Allen’s residence in Torrance, California.
Officials said efforts were underway to obtain a federal search warrant to examine the property for further evidence.
According to the White House, new details have emerged suggesting that Allen may have communicated his intentions prior to the attack.
His brother reportedly alerted the New London Police Department after receiving what authorities described as a manifesto outlining the suspect’s motives.
Investigators said the document explicitly referenced plans to target members of the Trump administration.
Officials also pointed to Allen’s social media activity, which allegedly contained anti-Trump and anti-Christian sentiments.
Reacting to the development during an interview with Fox News, Trump described the suspect as deeply disturbed.
“The guy is a sick guy,” Trump said. “When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians. That’s one thing for sure.
“He hates Christians, a hatred. And I think his sister or his brother actually was complaining about it. You know, they were even complaining to law enforcement. So he was, he was a very troubled guy.”
Further insight into Allen’s behaviour was provided by his sister, Avriana Allen, who spoke with both the Secret Service and local police in Rockville.
She reportedly told investigators that her brother frequently made extreme statements and spoke about carrying out actions to “fix” societal problems.
She also revealed that Allen had legally purchased firearms, including two handguns and a shotgun, from a dealer identified as Cap Tactical Firearms.
According to her account, the weapons were stored at their parents’ residence without their knowledge.
Avriana added that her brother regularly practised shooting at gun ranges and was associated with a group known as “The Wide Awakes.”
She further disclosed that he had participated in a “No Kings” protest in California at some point prior to the incident.
The shooting has heightened concerns about security at high-profile political events in the United States, particularly those attended by senior government officials and members of the press.
Authorities say investigations are ongoing as they work to piece together the full scope of Allen’s motives and potential affiliations.
Foreign
“Our Girls Are Sleeping With Foreigners, They Must Leave” — Emotional South African Man Sparks Outrage with Xenophobic Rant
A video circulating on social media shows a man in South Africa expressing strong anti-foreigner sentiments, in remarks that have sparked concern over rising xenophobic tensions.
In the footage, the man appears visibly emotional as he complains about the presence of foreigners in the country, claiming that “our girls are sl33ping with foreigners” and insisting that they “have to leave.” He also warns that foreigners “must never think they can control” local communities.
This is coming amid xenophobic raids carried out by South Africans against mainly Black immigrants in the country.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has explained how he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, revealing that doctors discovered an early-stage malignant tumour during routine medical checks.
In a post on X on Friday, Netanyahu said the tumour was found during follow-up monitoring after a previous surgery for an enlarged benign prostate.
He said the treatment had “removed the problem and left no trace of it”, adding that he is now in “excellent physical condition”.
The Israeli leader also disclosed that he delayed the release of his medical report to avoid its publication during the peak of tensions between the United States and Israel’s conflict with Iran. According to him, the decision was to prevent Tehran from spreading “even more false propaganda against Israel”.
The 76-year-old said the initial prostate surgery took place in 2024, after which he remained under regular medical supervision. During his latest check-up, doctors identified what he described as “A tiny spot of less than a centimetre”.
“I had a minor medical issue with my prostate that was completely treated. Thank God, it’s behind me,” he said.
Netanyahu added that his decision to proceed with treatment was guided by the need to act swiftly on potential health risks.
“when I’m given information in time about a potential danger, I want to address it immediately”.
He added: “This is true on the national level and also on the personal level”.
The disclosure comes ahead of his planned visit to the White House in the coming weeks, as the United States pushes for a lasting peace agreement in the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Meanwhile, Israel’s ceasefire with Lebanon, following clashes involving Iran-backed Hezbollah, has been extended by three weeks.
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