Author: James Martin

Hull FC youngsters Davy Litten and Jacob Hookem have joined Championship club Whitehaven on a short-term loan deal. The playmaking pair will be keen to get some much needed first-team experience under their belts and they could make their debuts this weekend as the Cumbrian outfit take on their rivals Workington Town on Easter Sunday. Litten, who signed a long-term deal with the Black and Whites earlier this year, is still waiting to make his senior debut for Hull, but he has been earmarked as a future star by head coach Brett Hodgson. Hookem, on the other hand, made his…

GMP posted a video about road safety which suggested a cyclist hit by a drink driver should have worn a high visibility jacket. The video, which was posted on the force’s Twitter account and features a Family Liaison Officer within the Serious Collision Unit, references a case where a female cyclist was left with life-changing injuries after being knocked off her bike whilst cycling on the pavement. During the clip, which has since been deleted, the officer issues a message that cyclists and motorcyclists should wear protective clothing such as a high visibility jacket and make themselves as visible as…

MPs and a human rights group have called on the UK government to repatriate a young British boy and his gravely ill mother from a detention camp in Syria, after doctors said she was at risk of dying and leaving the child orphaned.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was reviewing the case of Zaid* and his mother, Maryam* – who was injured in an explosion in Syria in 2019 and left with shrapnel in her head – “as a matter of priority”.However, despite multiple requests over several months to repatriate the family, no action has been taken. Maryam’s…

Being more conscientious and extroverted keeps mild cognitive impairment at bay longer, while having higher levels of neuroticism increases the chances of cognitive decline, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.”Personality traits reflect relatively enduring patterns of thinking and behaving, which may cumulatively affect engagement in healthy and unhealthy behaviors and thought patterns across the lifespan,” lead author Tomiko Yoneda, a psychology postdoctoral student at the University of Victoria in Canada, said in a statement.”The accumulation of lifelong experiences may then contribute to susceptibility of particular diseases or disorders, such as mild cognitive…

The former world darts champion Ted Hankey has admitted sexually assaulting a woman. The 54-year-old appeared at Warrington magistrates court on Thursday. He spoke to confirm his name, age and address, and pleaded guilty to the charge. The court heard he was charged with intentionally touching a woman over the age of 16 on 10 September last year. Jonathan Wilkinson, prosecuting, said the victim was under 18. District Judge Sanders said the case would be sent to Chester crown court, where Hankey will be sentenced on 12 May. He told Hankey he would become subject to notification requirements and should…

All fast food will eventually become vegan, a leading plant-based restaurateur has said, after Burger King made one of its flagship restaurants meat-free.The restaurant in Leicester Square, London, has been offering only vegan food for a month to test its popularity. This includes a plant-based version of its Whopper burger, as well as a “chicken” katsu burger and vegan nuggets.James Lewis, who works in marketing and product development for the vegan restaurant 123V on Bond Street, said this was part of a growing trend.Lewis, who with the French chef Alexis Gauthier runs two fully vegan restaurants in London, said: “What…

“The challenge for organizations that improve air quality is that it’s invisible,” said Joseph Allen, director of the Healthy Buildings Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.It’s true: Other Covid tools are more tangible. But visualizing how the virus might behave in poorly ventilated spaces can help people better understand this mitigation measure.Allen likens it to cigarette smoke. “If I’m smoking in the corner of a classroom and you have low ventilation/filtration, that room is going to fill up with smoke, and everyone is breathing that same air.”Then apply that to the outdoors.”I could be smoking a…

A motorist was left fuming after he noticed a Tesco petrol station was closed to the public, but a member of supermarket staff was being allowed to fill up their car. The supermarket chain, however, said that it was the customer’s behavior that was unacceptable. Large queues built up outside the Tesco branch in Hamilton, Leicester over the last week as protests at fuel plants across the UK have led to a shortage of petrol. As a result, the Tesco station has been forced to turn away customers. However, frustration eventually boiled over for one member of the public after…

5.50am EDT 05:50 Round two DIVISION ONE Bristol: Gloucestershire v Yorkshire Canterbury: Kent v Lancashire Taunton: Somerset v Essex The Oval: Surrey v Hampshire DIVISION TWO Derby: Derbyshire v Sussex Chester-le-Street: Durham v Leicestershire Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire v Glamorgan Warwickshire, Northants (Div one) and Middlesex and Notts (Div two) get a bye this round 5.26am EDT 05:26 Anya Shrubsole retires A legend lays down her cap: Shrubsole, who won two World Cups with England – the iconic player of the match on that fantastic late evening at Lord’s in 2017, taking 6-46…

Baggage handlers have been so short-staffed that entire flights have departed without luggage as the Easter travel crush peaked at Australian airports, with unions warning the pandemic-depleted aviation industry is now structurally incapable of coping with pre-Covid-like levels of travel demand.While unloaded baggage and long queues affected travellers across the country on Thursday, unions have claimed that in Brisbane, so few service workers were available that female cleaners were sent in to clean male toilets while travellers were using them, and male cleaners into bathrooms with female patrons.The pressures of the holiday period, Covid isolation orders, and a workforce cut…