Hailey was last seen in the Shankill area on Saturday

Police have said they are concerned for the welfare of missing child Hailey Walker from North Belfast.

Hailey waas last seen in the Shankill Estate area at aaround 3pm on Saturday February 7, and police are asking anyone who may have information regarding her whereabouts to contact them.

Police have issued an appeal saying they are concerned for her welfare and that she may be wearing black leggings and a black long sleeve sports top.

READ MORE: Co Roscommon funeral held for British Army officer killed in training incidentREAD MORE: 11 cases heard before Northern Ireland courts this week

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police in North Belfast are currently concerned about the welfare of missing child Hailey Walker.

“Hailey was last seen in the area of the Shankill Estate at 3pm on Saturday 7th February 2026. She may be wearing black leggings and a black long sleeve sports top. “If you have seen Hailey or have any information which could help us locate her please make contact with us by calling 101 and quoting Serial 1736 of 07/02/2026.”

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A five-figure exit payment given to Lord Peter Mandelson when he was sacked as US ambassador after the latest release of the Epstein files is being reviewed by the Foreign Office.

Lord Mandelson is reported to have received a financial settlement worth three months of pay, according to the Times, estimated to be between £38,750 and £55,000 before tax and other deductions.

Government sources reported that a payout had been agreed without confirming a number, but the payment is now under review, according to the BBC. Welfare secretary Pat McFadden suggested Lord Mandelson give the money back and donate it to charity.

While Lord Mandelson’s salary has not been published, his role is thought to have been among the highest paid in the diplomatic service raking in between £155,000 and £220,000 per year.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “Peter Mandelson’s civil service employment was terminated in accordance with legal advice and the terms and conditions of his employment.

“Normal civil services HR processes were followed. Further information will be provided to Parliament as part of the government response to the motion passed last week which is being coordinated by the cabinet office.”

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership remains in deep jeopardy as a new poll suggests the majority of voters think he should quit.

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Pat McFadden urges Mandelson to donate payout to charities

Welfare secretary Pat McFadden is urging Lord Peter Mandelson to give back an exit payment he received after he was sacked from office following new documents released in the Epstein files.

“I don’t think it will wash with the public,” he said about Lord Mandelson receiving the money and suggested he give the cash to a charity which helps women who have been the victims of abuse.

It is understood that Mandelson received a five figure pay off from the Foreign Office when he returned to the UK after being withdrawn as ambassador.

Mr McFadden said he feels “betrayed” by the man he used to work for but insisted he “had no idea” about this “other side of his life…live downloading government material to a man in America I had never heard of.”

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Maira Butt8 February 2026 08:57

Starmer’s deputy warns Mandelson scandal will impact crucial by-election

The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin and political editor David Maddox report:

Lucy Powell told The Independent that the vote, on 26 February, represents “a line in the sand” in Labour’s fight to stop the advance of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

“I imagine [Mandelson] will come up in some parts of the constituency,” Ms Powell said: “more than others for those who more closely follow the news.”

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Maira Butt8 February 2026 08:47

In Focus: ‘It’s over for Starmer. The only questions are when, how, and how painful’

As one former Labour prime minister famously said, “a week is a long time in politics”.

That is particularly true for one Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, who until Friday was the chief executive of the lobbying firm Global Counsel, which he co-founded with Peter Mandelson.

Mr Wegg-Prosser has been a close associate of the former Labour peer for decades, served as one of his key advisers and even became the director of Downing Street’s strategic communications unit under Tony Blair.

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The Independent’s Whitehall editor Kate Devlin and political editor David Maddox report:

Maira Butt8 February 2026 08:35

Lib Dems demand FCA investigate Mandelson for insider trading

Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader Daisy Cooper has urged the Financial Conduct Authority investigate Lord Peter Mandelson over allegations of insider trading.

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“The sharing of confidential information with a private financier could easily have provided an unfair and lucrative advantage in the financial markets, either by Epstein himself or by his associates,” Cooper said in the letter to the FCA, seen by the Guardian.

“Mandelson could also have personally profited from this arrangement.”

She added: “He and others must face criminal prosecution if they are found to have abused trading laws for financial benefit.”

Maira Butt8 February 2026 08:20

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Sadiq Khan backs Keir Starmer

Sir Sadiq Khan said Sir Keir Starmer “must stay”, likening politics to a 90-minute football match as he defended the Labour leader’s handling of the Peter Mandelson row and branded the disgraced peer “arrogant”.

But Sir Sadiq told The Observer: “Football is a 90-minute game. You wouldn’t dream of saying in the 35th minute because you’re 2-0 down – we’ll take all the players off and sack the manager.’The mayor, who has been in office for a decade, also took aim at Peter Mandelson, saying he was “the only person who knew” what was in the Epstein files.

Sir Sadiq said: “The whole Mandelson saga is a case study in “there’s one rule for the elites and the establishment and there’s another rule for the rest of us”.

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“It also shows the arrogance of the man. The only person who knew what was in those files was Peter Mandelson. It beggars belief he still put himself forward to be the ambassador to the US.”

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 February 2026 08:10

Mandelson payout under review after reports he received five-figure settlement after sacking

Lord Peter Mandelson is reported to have received a payout worth tens of thousands of pounds after being sacked as US ambassador over new details that emerged in the latest tranche of documents released in the Epstein files, according to the Times.

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Government sources confirmed that a financial settlement had been agreed but a number was not confirmed, but the payment is now under review, according to the BBC.

While his salary has not been published, the role is among the highest paid in the diplomatic service raking in between £155,000 and £220,000 per year.

His exit is said to have left him with a payout equivalent to three months of taxpayer-funded pay, according to the Times and is estimated to be between £38,750 and £55,000 before tax and other deductions.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “Peter Mandelson’s civil service employment was terminated in accordance with legal advice and the terms and conditions of his employment.

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“Normal civil services HR processes were followed. Further information will be provided to Parliament as part of the government response to the motion passed last week which is being co-ordinated by the cabinet office.”

Maira Butt8 February 2026 07:54

Lammy ‘warned’ Starmer about Mandelson appointment

Sir Keir Starmer is facing further backlash as it emerged that deputy prime minister David Lammy warned the leader about appointing Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador amid his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

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Friends and allies of Lammy told the Telegraph he had been against the appointment of Mandelson and in favour of an extension of Dame Karen Pierce’s term in the role due to her connections to President Donald Trump’s inner circle.

Mr Starmer is said to be “devastated” over the scandal and contemplating whether to stay as PM, according to the publication.

Maira Butt8 February 2026 07:41

Powell warns Mandelson scandal could impact curcial by-election

Lucy Powell, Deputy Labour Leader, told The Independent the scandal could impact the Gorton and Denton by-election.

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“I imagine [Peter Mandelson] will come up in some parts of the constituency,” she said.

“More than others for those who more closely follow the news.”

Ms Powell added: “All I’d say is that prime ministers have to make judgement calls all day long and all the time, and sometimes they get them wrong.

“I think the prime minister’s put his hands up about that.”

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Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 February 2026 07:30

Poll suggest British voters think Sir Keir should quit as Labour leader

A poll by Opinium indicated that more than half, 55 per cent, of British voters thought Sir Keir Starmer should quit as Labour leader, with just 23 per cent saying he should remain.

Sir Keir’s net approval rate fell three points in a fortnight to minus 44, with 61 per cent of those surveyed saying they disapproved of him and just 17 per cent saying they approved.Opinium surveyed 2,054 adults between Wednesday and Friday.

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Former prime minister Gordon Brown said the situation facing Sir Keir was “serious” and suggested he had been “too slow to do the right things” to clean up politics in the wake of the Peter Mandelson row.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 February 2026 07:00

Mandelson’s US ambassador payoff ‘to be reviewed by government’

Lord Mandelson was fired over his relationship with the disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein, and anger in Westminster has intensified after the latest release of documents, which indicated he leaked information to his friend while he was a government minister.

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After being forced out of his post in September last year, the peer received payment equivalent to three months’ salary, according to reports in The Times.

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar8 February 2026 06:30

Skeleton is an exhilarating Winter Olympic sport in which athletes race head-first down an ice track at speeds reaching over 80 miles per hour (130km/h). While the event can look basic at first glance, success relies heavily on highly engineered equipment and extensive wind‑tunnel testing – much like elite Olympic track cycling programmes.

Each run begins with the athlete pushing a sled (also known as a “tea tray”) explosively off the starting block, then sprinting rapidly for about 30 metres downhill. After diving on the sled, they ride the rest of the course with their head just a few inches above the ice. The sleds have no brakes, and riders wear only a thin suit and helmet for protection.

A powerful start is considered the defining component of skeleton performance. So, developing a skeleton athlete’s strength and power while refining their pushing technique is a central focus in the lead-up to competitions. The biggest of all these, the Winter Olympics, is being held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, this month. Skeleton events start on February 12.

While Britain does not tend to rank highly in Winter Olympic sports, in skeleton it has won a world-best nine Olympic medals, including three golds. Over the past ten years, my colleagues and I at the University of Bath have worked with Team GB skeleton athletes to help improve their starts, using a form of “markerless” motion capture technology.

But the applications of this technology extend far beyond the Winter Olympics. There is potential for it to replace traditional motion capture systems in the film, TV and gaming industries, and to be used in injury rehabilitation.

How motion analysis began

The origins of motion analysis can be traced back to the pioneering work of English photographer Eadweard Muybridge in the late 19th century. Muybridge developed early techniques for capturing sequences of images, including documenting equine gait.

By manually annotating specific features across successive images, researchers have since been able to build a detailed picture of how a person or animal moves. But while this method was the standard for many decades, it was both time- and labour-intensive.

So, technological advances in cameras and computer processing led to the development of automated methods of motion analysis – notably, marker-based motion capture. This uses reflective markers placed on key parts of the body, which are automatically tracked by infra-red cameras as the person moves around.

In film, animation and gaming, this mean an actor’s body movements and facial expressions can be translated into to realistic CGI characters. Marker-based technology is currently the most widely used 3D motion analysis technique across the film, gaming and health sectors, with an estimated global market value of over US$300 million (£220 million).

However, this advanced technology has limitations too, including the need for specialist equipment, controlled laboratory environments, and lengthy preparation time to attach the markers. These can be problematic in sports and many other fields – particularly during live competitions and public performances.

As a result, the field of motion analysis has come almost full circle. Thanks to major advances in computer vision and artificial intelligence, biomechanists such like me are once again extracting detailed movement information directly from video images – but this time in an automated way.

The markerless motion capture systems we use rely on deep‑learning models that are trained on a huge number of images of people performing everyday activities. When applied to unseen images, the algorithms can then automatically detect the same body landmarks. By fusing multiple camera views, a simplified digital 3D skeleton can be extracted, from which the person’s movement across time can be modelled and analysed.

Analysing the optimum technique

Markerless motion capture makes it possible to unobtrusively measure athletes’ movements outside the lab, in training and even during competitions. Our recent research has demonstrated its value in many different sports, including badminton, tennis and Olympic weightlifting.

In skeleton, the unique, bent-over position at the start of each run, as the athlete sprints alongside the sled with one hand holding it, makes this form of biomechanical analysis particularly important.

Using markerless motion capture, we have explored the differing roles of an athlete’s limbs in the push-start performance, comparing these biomechanics with conventional sprinting. Importantly, we have also validated this markerless approach by comparing it with a traditional marker‑based system.

The optimum starting technique for each skeleton athlete is shaped by their physical characteristics, including factors such as relative limb lengths and flexibility. Analysing each athlete’s pushing technique, how it relates to their performance and how this evolves over time, can help give them a crucial competitive edge during this all-important first phase of each skeleton run.

Medals can be won and lost by hundredths of seconds as athletes sprint away from the starting block. In these first few seconds, we hope Britain’s athletes reap the benefit of our markerless motion capture technology.

President Donald Trump’s administration can continue to detain immigrants without bond, marking a major legal victory for the federal immigration agenda and countering a slew of recent lower court decisions across the country that argued the practice is illegal.

A panel of judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Friday evening that the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to deny bond hearings to immigrants arrested across the country is consistent with the constitution and federal immigration law.

Specifically, circuit judge Edith H. Jones wrote in the 2-1 majority opinion that the government correctly interpreted the Immigration and Nationality Act by asserting that “unadmitted aliens apprehended anywhere in the United States are ineligible for release on bond, regardless of how long they have resided inside the United States.”

Under past administrations, most noncitizens with no criminal record who were arrested away from the border had an opportunity to request a bond hearing while their cases wound through immigration court. Historically, bond was often granted to those without criminal convictions who were not flight risks, and mandatory detention was limited to recent border crossers.

“That prior Administrations decided to use less than their full enforcement authority under” the law “does not mean they lacked the authority to do more,” Jones wrote.

The plaintiffs in the two separate cases filed last year against the Trump administration were both Mexican nationals who had both lived in the United States for over 10 years and weren’t flight risks, their attorneys argued. Neither man had a criminal record, and both were jailed for months last year before a lower Texas court granted them bond in October.

The Trump White House reversed that policy in favor of mandatory detention in July, reversing almost 30 years of precedent under both Democrat and Republican administrations.

Friday’s ruling also bucks a November district court decision in California, which granted detained immigrants with no criminal history the opportunity to request a bond hearing and had implications for noncitizens held in detention nationwide.

Circuit Judge Dana M. Douglas wrote the lone dissent in Friday’s decision.

The elected congress members who passed the Immigration and Nationality Act “would be surprised to learn it had also required the detention without bond of two million people,” Douglas wrote, adding that many of the people detained are “the spouses, mothers, fathers, and grandparents of American citizens.”

She went on to argue that the federal government was overriding the lawmaking process with DHS’ new immigration detention policy that denies detained immigrants bond.

“Because I would reject the government’s invitation to rubber stamp its proposed legislation by executive fiat, I dissent,” Douglas wrote.

Douglas’ opinion echoed widespread tensions between the Trump administration and federal judges around the country, who have increasingly accused the administration of flouting court orders.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated the decision as “a significant blow against activist judges who have been undermining our efforts to make America safe again at every turn.”

“We will continue vindicating President Trump’s law and order agenda in courtrooms across the country,” Bondi wrote on the social media platform X.

The Sunday Mail ventured out in plunging temperatures last week to find out what life is really like for victims of the crisis.

Scotland is in the grip of a homelessness epidemic with nearly 20,000 people struggling to survive in desolate city streets, shop doorways, temporary digs and tents.

The Sunday Mail ventured out in plunging temperatures last week to find out what life is really like for victims of the crisis.

The latest figures revealed that 19,469 adults were classed as homeless between April and September in ­Scotland with a record 10,480 children in temporary accommodation.

Rough sleeping is up by a quarter and in Glasgow, the number of homeless families has rocketed by 17 per cent.

In the underpass at Central Station on Argyle Street we found a small squalid tent set up with a folding camp bed next to it.

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Inside, four people passed about a bottle of Buckfast and one lit up what appeared to be a crackpipe.

One man didn’t want us around and told us so in no uncertain terms – but others emerged from the tent who were happy to speak.

Joe Elder, who recently got out of prison, said: “You’d never see tents here two, three years ago. It’s disgusting how people are treated.

“Reintegrating into society is a lot harder than people think.

“I’ve got bad mental health. You’re left to fend for yourself and when you try to get help, you’re left with a bed or tent… we’re the lost generation.”

In the city we met friends Connor and Natasha, who were keen to share their stories about how they were real people and not just statistics.

Natasha, a mum, told how she has a drinking problem and uses alcohol to cope with her situation.

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She said she has not seen her children in more than a year which she blames on social services.

Currently, she lives in temporary supported accommodation and hopes if she gets a home of her own she can see her children again but has been on a council house waiting list for three years.

Natasha said: “Nobody seems to care about homelessness, it’s just a joke. The government needs to do more. We’re just people who need help and somewhere to stay. We’re all just human beings.

“You’re seeing people dying, you’re seeing people full of drugs on the street. We all want support but none of the homeless people get support in Glasgow.

“You see them all out in the street but they’re never getting houses. Everybody should have somewhere safe. There’s people I’ve seen with kids left to look after themselves in the middle of the street.”

During our interview, Natasha darted off down the street where she became embroiled in a commotion before returning with a bruise on her cheek.

“I just got punched,” she told Connor.

A police van crawls past. Twice the van doors slide open only to close again before it drives away.

Up ahead, we see a dark-clothed figure sprinting past, bombing up Union Street at full pelt. The officers in the van almost race after him, then decide it’s a lost cause and drive off. I’ve no idea if it’s connected to what happened to Natasha.

Dad-of-two Connor, 26, is a ­qualified tradesman, who worked in thermal insulation for eight years before medical problems put him out of work.

Brought up by his grandmother, who now has dementia and is in care, he has been forced to sleep on friends’ couches to survive. He said: “I lost everything and it just shows you that anybody can go from top to bottom.

“I can’t work just now and I couldn’t afford the private let we had so I had to get out. It’s so hard to get by.

“It’s getting a lot worse out here. People take advantage and benefit, while others who need genuine help don’t get it. I’m just trying to get better.”

The bitter reality of the city’s streets is a far cry from the warmth and shelter of the Glasgow City Mission, which offers a nightly free dinner service for those in need. Despite being mostly staffed by volunteers, it feeds up to 190 people some nights.

Yvonne Faddis, women’s project worker at the charity, said: “We’ve got a lot coming in who are in recovery. Some of the women we work with have experienced domestic abuse or are fleeing violence.

“Some are coming from different places and just need connection and support. Everybody we work with is just a person with a story.

“I think we come with pre-judgments of people so often, if we see somebody on the street or begging… but there’s something really beautiful about hearing people’s stories and seeing where they’ve been.”

Maureen Gardiner, affectionately known as Mo, has been a volunteer with the mission for 20 years.

She said: “People will never starve in Glasgow. We might be short of beds but we’re never short of food.”

But she describes the current housing situation in the city as “dire”. Maureen added: “It’s getting worse every year. I ­actually don’t know what’s gone so wrong.”

There’s no escaping the issue of refugees when it comes to housing and homelessness services, with a 51 per cent rise in homeless applicants last year from people who had been given asylum.

Refugee households accounted for nearly half of all applications in Glasgow – about 1700 families.

Time after time, homeless people we spoke to told us they feel they’ve been sidelined to accommodate refugees – while one homelessness worker told us Glasgow was “bursting at the seams”.

Alison Mitchell, a senior housing settlement officer at Glasgow City Mission’s Overnight Welcome Centre, claimed changes to “local connection” rules limiting the ability of councils to turn away people without local ties had put huge strain on cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh.

She said: “The Scottish Government is using its devolved powers, such as housing and healthcare, to provide a different experience for refugees who come to Scotland.

“And therein lies the reason, I think, that Glasgow is absolutely bursting at the seams.

“As soon as refugees have got their leave to remain, they all want to come to Scotland because the laws are different to England and Wales.

“And Edinburgh and Glasgow are both greatly under strain due to this change on local connection.”

Glasgow City Mission is just one of several charities aiming to make the lives of the city’s homeless more bearable by offering food, shelter and support amid the huge pressure on council homelessness services.

On Royal Exchange Square, we stumbled across a group of ­fluorescent-jacketed volunteers from StreetCare, which for nearly two decades have been going out every week to feed the homeless.

Most of their food comes from commercial outlets like Pret A Manger and Greggs, which hand over stuff they would otherwise throw out as waste at closing time.

We meet charity co-founder Boab Scott, from Drymen, who says: “We’re always in demand, some nights busier than others and tonight we’ve seen 35-40 people.”

On Gordon Street we also met James, a former janitor, who after years on a waiting list was given a council house 10 weeks ago.

He said: “I’m out trying to scrape together a tenner for my meter.”

Volunteers’ efforts to offer food and kindness to those falling through the system’s cracks are awe-inspiring.

But even with the best will in the world they can never do enough, given the huge scale of the crisis faced by thousands of people across Scotland today.

Amber previously visited Cadbury World to see if she could bag much free chocolate. She documented her journey to the Birmingham attraction, and made a few discoveries

There’s nothing like indulging in a good bar of chocolate, and Cadbury has been a staple brand for many years, as it’s always bringing out new and exciting flavours. However, in a bid to have a totally sweet experience, one woman visited Cadbury World, in Birmingham, to see if she could bag some free chocolate.

Amber, who’s known as passporttpages on TikTok, often documents her travel adventures and local experiences, and she shared what it was like when she visited the famous chocolate factory. According to her, there are questions people sometimes have about visiting such as “what is there to do?” and perhaps, most importantly, “do you get any free chocolate?”, so she ventured off in search of some answers.

It’s not the first time someone has carried out such an experiment either. Back last year, another woman also went on a mission to try and find free sweet treats at the factory.

Alongside the video, Amber said: “Is Cadbury World still good without kids? We spent around two hours here and had a great time! If you’re looking for a family day out or a fun few hours out the house this is great.”

In the clip, Amber then continued to explain what happened when she visited the attraction back last year. She said: “There is a high possibility I’m going to be way too old for this, but we’re going to give it a go anyway.

“We’re giving Cadbury World a go as adults, so let’s see how it goes. The first thing that happens when you arrive is you’re given three free chocolate bars, so you can’t go wrong with that, and you can also buy a bag to put them in.

“It was £1.50 for a small one or £2.50 for a big one. So when you go inside, you go around a set route where you can see how chocolate was made years ago, all the old advertising and a few shows.

“My favourite bit was this one, where they give you a pot of melted chocolate and you can pick two toppings to put in it. I chose to put Oreo crumbs and white chocolate buttons in mine, and it was so good.”

Amber also explained there’s something called a “have a go” section, where you can do some chocolate drawings and have a go at tempering chocolate too. After this, she experienced a 4D cinema ride, which she noted was “better than she was expecting”.

She also said there’s a café with all sorts of treats available and there’s also a playground outside for kids. As well as this, she thought the gift shop was a “real treat”.

Amber headed straight to the chocolate section as “nearly all of it was discounted”. There were some bars that were “twice the size of her head”, and she also managed to snap up some limited edition goodies too.

According to her, it’s a great place to go for a day out, and she seemed to really enjoy her time there. Not to mention, she bagged a few freebies too.

The video has been watched more than 25,000 times since she posted it, and people were quick to comment too. They shared all sorts of thoughts about their personal experiences at Cadbury World.

One said: “Been to Cadbury World twice as kid, once when I was too small to remember it, and once when I was a bit older (maybe eight or nine) and seeing this has made me want to go back, looks really good.”

Another added: “I remember going and throwing up the whole way home cause we all ate so much chocolate, lol.”

A third suggested you used to get more free chocolate though, writing: “I swear when I used to go as a kid you got about a dozen free bars at the beginning. The shop at the end is pretty good to be fair, especially if you buy the bags of Mis Shapes.”

Meanwhile, a fourth also commented: “I used to love the small pots of chocolate they’d give in every room around.” One more also chimed in with: “Haven’t been in years, but I remember that pot of melting chocolate being insane!”

How much is it to visit Cadbury World?

There are different packages available but, according to the website, a standard ticket costs from £19 if you book in advance. It also details what treats you may find yourself receiving.

It states: “Each guest will receive a Cadbury chocolate bar at the start of the tour, and then in our Chocolate Making zone, each guest will receive a delicious pot of warm melted Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate, plus a choice of two toppings from a selection of treats.

“Then, after our new Cadbury Chocolate Quest ride, each guest will also receive another Cadbury chocolate bar to enjoy. Please note that the gifting of chocolate and any other products is complimentary and may be withdrawn at any time at the discretion of Cadbury World.”

Bothwell in Lanarkshire, has become known as Britain’s “firebomb capital”.

Fed-up residents on Celtic legend Henrick Larsson’s former street have launched a neighbourhood watch scheme in response to an organised crime spree in their posh village.

The area in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, has become known as Britain’s “firebomb capital” after more than 30 targeted attacks thought to be linked to underworld gangs.

The latest saw two cars torched in separate incidents in Baillie Drive last month.

Police are keeping an open mind as to whether they were linked to the series of fires that have plagued the leafy village which is a favourite for Old Firm stars.

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Locals are alarmed over the spate of brazen arson and so far unsolved attacks on restaurants, homes and luxury cars since 2019.

Now residents on the street where Larsson lived for seven year have come together in an attempt to protect their community.

Grieve Croft Neighbourhood Watch, has been set up in response to “a number of recent incidents affecting our estate and the surrounding area”.

The group said: “These included attempted break-ins within Grieve Croft, the removal of nearby CCTV infrastructure, and a series of fires at domestic and commercial premises in the wider neighbourhood.

“The Watch was established by residents with a shared aim – to look out for one another, identify risks early and help keep Grieve Croft a safe and welcoming place.”

They say their objectives are to improve awareness of local security and safety risks, while acting as a “visible and positive deterrent to potential criminal or anti-social behaviour”.

It comes as Police Scotland data showed there were 27 attacks between 2021 and October 2025, with three others in 2019.

Fire attacks include 16 on private property, including cars and nine on commercial properties including restaurants.

Arsonists struck four restaurants with the two most recent The Cut and Nel & Co – both linked to the same family – set ablaze in September and October.

All four were forced to close after suffering extensive blaze damage.

Bothwell residents are also demanding improved security with calls for CCTV surveillance and Automatic Plate Recognition cameras to ramp up security within the village.

South Lanarkshire councillor Kenny McCreary backs calls for cameras amid concerns over public safety following one incident where residents had to be evacuated.

McCreary said: “Residents above Nell and Company restaurant had to be evacuated when it was set on fire. It was really scary for them and showed these fires present a risk to life.”

Chief Inspector Sarah McArthur said: “We understand these incidents in Bothwell may be worrying for the local community, but I want to offer reassurance that we believe these fires were targeted and there is no wider risk to the public.

“The investigation into these wilful fires is ongoing with detectives carrying out extensive enquiries to trace those involved.”

The record-breaking weather statistic has many wondering if it is now time to build an ark.

As Britain’s big wet continues forecasters have warned there is “no end in sight” as the UK enters a record-breaking 38 consecutive days of rain.

Greater Manchester is on flood watch amid a wave of warnings across the country. As rivers continue to respond to persistent rainfall, officials are warning that land, roads, and properties in the North West could be at risk.

While the most severe warnings are focused on the South West of England, the Environment Agency (EA) has confirmed that localised flooding from rivers and surface water is possible for parts of the North West over the next 48 hours.

With the ground already soaking wet, even moderate rainfall may cause immediate run-off, threatening to overwhelm local drainage systems, small watercourses, and could cause some flash flooding.

As yet another wet Sunday sets in, England’s Environment Agency has issued nearly 90 high-level flood warnings and more than 230 flood alerts across England, Greater Manchester residents are urged to stay alert this Sunday with several waterways being monitored for flooding.

Waterways to watch:

• The Upper River Derwent: Levels are being monitored closely as rain continues to fall on the hills.
• The River Foulness and Market Weighton catchment: Alerts remain in place as water levels rise.
• River Trent and River Idle: Significant alerts are active for these major systems in the neighbouring regions, which could impact travel for those heading east or south from Manchester.

The scale of the wild weather is evident across the UK, with the South West currently bearing the brunt of the weather. Significant flooding is deemed as probable for Somerset and Dorset, where dozens of Red warnings are in place.

The River Severn has seen also seeing minor flooding, and warnings have been issued as far east as the River Glen in Lincolnshire. In total, there are currently 89 flood warnings (where flooding expected) and 232 flood alerts (where flooding possible) active across England.

Forecasters have warned that while the rain may ease sporadically, the risk remains “possible but not expected” from Monday through to Wednesday. However, for today and tomorrow, the message is clear: be prepared.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Localised flooding from rivers and surface water is possible more widely today for parts of England due to further rain falling on wet ground. Land, roads and properties may flood and there may be travel disruption.”

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud gave little hope when telling Britons that the gloomy conditions are set to continue. He said, earlier in the week: “Unfortunately, there’s no end in sight.”

Russia, Ukraine and the US met for a second time this week for trilateral talks to discuss a possible cessation of hostilities. Once again little was resolved apart from a prisoner swap, something that has happened several times over the four years of the full-scale conflict between the two countries.

The lack of any substantive breakthrough was fairly predictable, given the circumstances. This week’s meeting got off to the same depressing start as the first one had the week before. On February 3, the night before the three sides gathered in Abu Dhabi, a massive barrage of 521 drones and cruise missiles once again targeted critical civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv.

And while the talks were in full swing, Russia followed up on its nighttime strikes by deploying cluster munitions against a market in Druzhkivka, one of the embattled cities in what remains of Ukraine’s fortress belt in the Donetsk region.

Not the most auspicious start to talks that aim to stop fighting between the two sides. Add to that the fact that the basic negotiating positions of Moscow and Kyiv remain as far apart as ever, and any prospect of an imminent breakthrough to peace in Ukraine quickly evaporates.

The more technical discussions on military issues, including specifics of a ceasefire and how it would be monitored, appear to be generally more constructive. Apart from a prisoner exchange, no further agreement was reached. But even such small confidence-building steps are useful. And even where no agreement is feasible for now, identifying likely issues and mapping solutions that are potentially acceptable to Moscow and Kyiv is important preparatory work for a future settlement.

However, without a breakthrough on political issues it does not get the conflict parties closer to a peace deal. These political issues remain centred on the question of territory. Russia insists on the so-called “Anchorage formula”. Ukraine withdraws from those areas of Donetsk it still controls and Russia agrees to freezing the frontlines elsewhere.

Kyiv has repeatedly made clear that this is unacceptable. US mediation efforts, to date, have been unable to break this deadlock.

The political impasse, however, clearly extends beyond territory. Without naming any specific blockages to a deal, Yury Ushakov, a key advisor to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, recently noted that there were other contested issues holding up agreement. Very likely among them are the security guarantees that Ukraine has been demanding to make sure that Russia will not renege on a settlement.

These future security guarantees appear to have been agreed between Kyiv and its European and American partners. They involve a gradual escalating response to Russian ceasefire violations, ultimately involving direct European and US military involvement.

Potholes in the road to peace

The Kremlin’s opposition to such an arrangement is hardly surprising. But it casts further doubt on how sincere Putin is about a durable peace agreement with Ukraine. In turn, it explains Kyiv’s reluctance to make any concessions, let alone those on the current scale of Russian demands.

What complicates these discussions further is the fact that the US is linking the provision of security guarantees for Kyiv to Ukrainian concessions on territory along the lines of the Moscow-endorsed Anchorage formula.

This might seem a sensible and fair compromise, but there are some obvious problems with it. First, it relies on the dependability of the US as an ultimate security backstop. But (particularly European) confidence in how dependable US pledges actually are has been severely eroded during the first 12 months of Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.

Second, Europe is moving painfully slowly to fill the void left by the US decision to halt funding to Ukraine. The details of a €90 billion (£78 billion) loan agreed in principle by EU leaders in December, have only just been finalised.

Doubts – as voiced by Nato secretary-general, Mark Rutte – also persist about whether, even in the long term, Europe has a credible prospect of developing sufficiently independent military capabilities outside the transatlantic alliance.

Few incentives to reach a deal

As a result, there are few incentives for Kyiv to bow to US pressure and give up more territory to Russia in exchange for security guarantees that may not be as ironclad in reality as they appear on paper. Likewise, it makes little sense for Moscow to accept even a hypothetical western security guarantee in exchange for territory that the Kremlin remains confident it can take by force if necessary.

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Following Xi Jinping’s public affirmation of Chinese support for Russia in a video call between the two countries’ presidents on the anniversary of the declaration of their “no-limits partnership” in February 2022, Putin is unlikely to feel any real pressure to change his position.

Putin will feel further reassured in his position by the fact that there is still no progress on a new sanctions bill in the US senate – four weeks after Trump allegedly “greenlit” the legislation. In addition, Trump’s top Ukraine negotiators – Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – are now also engaged in negotiations with Iran. This further diminishes US diplomatic capacity and is only going to reinforce Moscow’s intransigence.

Any claims of progress in the negotiations in Abu Dhabi are therefore at best over-optimistic and at worst self-deluding. And if such claims come from Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev, they once more underscore that US mediation between Russia and Ukraine serves the primary purpose of restoring economic relations between Moscow and Washington. Like Kushner and Witkoff, Dmitriev is first and foremost a businessman.

Not only does this parallel track of Russia-US economic talks explain Trump’s reluctance to put any meaningful pressure on Putin, it also betrays the deep irony of the US approach to ending the war. As Europe painfully learned over more than two decades of engagement with Putin’s Russia, economic integration does not curb the Kremlin’s expansionism but enables it.

A female teacher was injured at a school in Wales on Thursday

A 15-year-old boy has been remanded into custody after appearing in court charged with the attempted murder of a teacher at a school in west Wales.

Swansea Magistrates’ Court heard on Saturday that the school pupil, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly attacked the female teacher with a kitchen knife after asking for help with work at Milford Haven Comprehensive School on Thursday afternoon.

Appearing in court the teenager spoke only to confirm his name, address, and date of birth.

He was charged with attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, and possession of a bladed article on education premises.

He is alleged to have attacked a female teacher with a kitchen knife while she was going through his work with him in a classroom shortly after 3pm on Thursday. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here.

Magistrates heard the woman was left with injuries to her head, finger, and back for which she received treatment in hospital.

The boy’s family were in court to watch proceedings on Saturday.

He was remanded into youth detention over the weekend and will appear at Swansea Crown Court on February 9.

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