LONDON (AP) — Two trains collided north of London on Friday, killing a driver and seriously injuring dozens of people on board. A passenger described being thrown forward by the impact then seeing fellow travelers with broken bones and bloody injuries.

Both trains were traveling south to London St. Pancras station when they collided outside the town of Bedford around 5:15 p.m., according to information on rail tracking websites. Emergency services deployed a number of resources to the scene including an air ambulance and hazardous incident team from the East of England Ambulance Service.

“We know that a number of people have been injured and one person has very sadly died,’’ police said in a statement. “A major incident has been declared, and officers are continuing to respond at the scene alongside colleagues from Bedfordshire Police and the local Fire and Rescue and Ambulance Services.’’

The East of England Ambulance Service later said that 11 people had very serious injuries, 22 were seriously injured and 56 had minor injuries.

Eddie Dempsey, the general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, said the fatality was a train driver.

Peter Knapp, a passenger, said he was in the rear train when the collision occurred without any warning.

“There was a moment of being flung into the chair in front, and then I saw smoke,” Knapp said. “People were crying, screaming. People were so scared and confused.”

“I got up and I saw a lot of people who were unable to speak, had broken legs,” he added. “And then I managed to get out of the train and because I’m quite thin I was able to squeeze out through the gap in the doors.”

Photos and videos posted on social media showed dozens of people, some with bandages but many who appeared uninjured, standing and sitting among emergency vehicles parked on a road that runs parallel to the train tracks.

The RMT union, which represents many railway workers, said it was monitoring the situation and expressed its concern over reports of “serious injuries” sustained by both train staff and passengers.

I’M writing in to express how thankful I am to the people of York for opening their city up to the world.

I’m a university student in Toronto, Canada, and I spent the past six weeks here in York as part of a scholarship that funds students to work at non-profits abroad.

It has been one of the best experiences of my life.

I know that having so many visitors comes with burdens, such as pressure on the housing market and crowds in the street, and I want to say thank you to York for hosting so many people each year with grace and kindness.

Everyone I interacted with here was incredibly friendly and happy to teach me about life in York – it’s not so different from Canada, but different enough that I still had lots of questions!

I would particularly like to recognise Friargate Quaker Meeting, which became my community while I was here and which exemplifies the idea of welcoming the stranger.

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You have a truly vibrant and beautiful city, which you are doing a wonderful job of stewarding.

It was a privilege to be welcomed into it. If anyone from York finds themselves travelling to Canada, don’t hesitate to look me up, so that I can return the same hospitality – genuinely!

Katrina Eilender,

Dalton Road,

Toronto,

Ontario, Canada

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The clip of the fans uniting has warmed the hearts of people who were delighted to see their friendly interaction.

Scotland and Morocco fans have been partying together outside a pub in Boston just hours before the nations face off against each other in their second World Cup match.

Steve Clarke’s men stand on the brink of history as a win over Morocco at the Gillette Stadium tonight would get us out of Group C and qualifying for the next round.

Scotland’s win over Haiti means Andy Robertson and co stand just a point from guaranteeing knockout football for the first time ever.

A video being shared online shows both sets of fans lapping up the atmosphere together outside Hennessy’s Bar in the US host city, which has seen around 50,000 Scotland fans arrive in the last week.

Members of the Tartan Army could be seen passionately jumping up and down together in a huge crowd while chanting and waving their fists in the air.

Among them were groups of Moroccan fans who joined the party, waving their flags. The clip of the fans uniting was shared on Instagram and social media users were delighted to see their friendly interaction.

One commented: “Absolutely love this. So proud to be Scottish when I see this. It melts my heart. Well done, all.”

A second scribed: “Guys you need to visit Morocco in the summer! Welcome, Scottish people.”

A third chimed in: “I love how fun and beautifully respectful it’s been before and after the matches. It’s amazing.

“Scotland putting the world to rights.”

A fourth agreed: “This is what it’s all about,” while a fifth added: “You will always be welcome in Morocco.”

The Tartan Army out in Boston are urging the team to put the past behind us and get the result we need against Morocco tonight.

Before now, our national team have qualified for 12 major tournaments but never yet been able to get through the group.

The tens of thousands of foot soldiers who have made the long trip across the pond are now desperate to see us finally change that.

With the extended 48-team World Cup allowing the eight best third-placed team to get through, they reckon we have never had a better chance, and the feeling is we will get at least a point this evening.

Davy Bowman, a 51-year-old business analyst, from Irvine, told the Record: “No doubt about it, this group are getting out of this group.

“This is the difference between previous Scotland teams to this one. It’s like a club atmosphere the boys have got now… just like normal guys, but they are all very, very good at football. I think we will get the draw we need.”

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The university described her as “one of the most important ever figures in the history of women’s sport”.

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Boxer Katie Taylor has been awarded an honorary law degree by Trinity College Dublin.

The university described the Bray native as “one of the most important ever figures in the history of women’s sport”.

Taylor, 39, received the honorary degree at a Commencements Ceremony in the Public Theatre of Trinity on Friday, the Irish Mirror reports.

She was among Irish musician Sharon Shannon, writer Colm Tóibín, barrister Helena Kennedy, and human rights activist Helen Prejean to be awarded with honorary degrees.

Trinity College said Taylor could lay claim to be “Ireland’s greatest ever sporting champion” and said her battles in the ring have “helped propel women’s boxing to new heights of popularity and respect”.

She won five consecutive gold medals at the Women’s World Championships, six at the European Championships and five at the European Union Championships, as well as gold at the Summer Olympic Games in 2012.

Since her professional career in 2016, she became WBA lightweight champion in July 2017, IBF lightweight champion in 2018 and WBO and WBC lightweight champion in 2019, becoming the undisputed world lightweight champion.

In 2019 she won the WBO super-lightweight belt to become a two-weight world champion.

Her first of the famed trilogy fights against American fighter Amanda Serrano was the first women’s bout to headline at Madison Square Garden in New York, and the second was watched by more than 74 million viewers, making it the most watched female sporting event in history.

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On September 5, Taylor is to end her professional boxing career with a sold-out fighting spectacle against 28-year-old Frenchwoman Flora Pili in Dublin’s famous Croke Park stadium, which has capacity of more than 80,000.

Taylor said she is excited to fight at the “iconic” Dublin stadium where she also has the chance to finish her career with all boxing titles back in in her grasp.

Trinity College Dublin said: “She has played a formative role in enhancing women’s sport and especially women’s boxing both in Ireland and around the world.

“She is widely recognised as being responsible for the introduction of women’s boxing as an Olympic sport at the London 2012 games before then going on to transform the perception of female professional boxing.

“In this regard, Katie Taylor stands as a beacon for women’s sport in Ireland and throughout the world, and because of what she has done for women’s boxing specifically and women’s sport generally, she will go down in history as one of the most important women athletes of all time.”

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“What is hard to understand is why the minimum age of criminal responsibility needed the protection of a mechanism intended to safeguard minority rights.”

There was always going to be disagreement over whether Northern Ireland should raise the age of criminal responsibility.

Some experts argue it should be increased to 14. Others believe the current age of 10 remains appropriate. Most of the political debate in recent months has centred on where the line should be drawn.

But what happened at Stormont this week was ultimately about something else. The DUP’s decision to use a Petition of Concern to block an amendment to the Justice Bill has reignited an old question about one of the Assembly’s most powerful mechanisms and what it is actually for.

Alliance MLA Sian Mulholland’s proposal would have raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14, with exceptions for the most serious offences. It was a significant change, and not everyone supported it.

Yet there was also a middle ground available. Former UUP MLA Doug Beattie had proposed increasing the age to 12, bringing Northern Ireland into line with Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, while stopping short of the more ambitious reform advocated by some children’s rights organisations.

There was a respectable argument for supporting that compromise. Equally, there was a respectable argument for rejecting it. That is normally how legislatures work. Parties make their case. MLAs vote. The side with the numbers wins. Instead, the debate became something rather different.

The Petition of Concern occupies a unique place in Northern Ireland politics. It was never designed as a routine parliamentary tactic. It emerged from a political settlement that recognised that simple majority rule would not be enough in a divided society.

At its core was the idea that there should be protections against one section of the community imposing its will on another. This helps explain why the mechanism has generated so much controversy over the years.

Long before the reforms introduced in New Decade New Approach, the Petition of Concern had acquired a reputation for being used in circumstances far removed from the role envisaged by its architects. Critics argued that it had evolved from a safeguard into a veto.

The reforms that followed were intended to restore confidence that it would be reserved for exceptional circumstances. This week’s vote inevitably raises questions about whether that ambition has been realised.

Nobody seriously argues that raising the age of criminal responsibility engages the kind of communal protections the Petition of Concern was designed to provide. This was a disagreement about criminal justice policy. A significant disagreement, certainly. An important one. But it was still a policy disagreement. Indeed, there appears to have been majority support within the Assembly for some form of change.

That does not mean reform was necessarily right, but it does mean that the normal legislative process was prevented from running its course.

The DUP will argue that it acted in what it believes to be the public interest. The UUP members who supported the petition will say the same. They are entitled to hold those views.

What is harder to understand is why those views needed the protection of a mechanism intended to safeguard minority rights.

The decision is also awkward for the UUP. Without the support of Jon Burrows, Diana Armstrong, Robbie Butler and Alan Chambers, the petition would not have succeeded. That leaves the party sharing responsibility for an outcome which sits uneasily alongside years of criticism about how the mechanism has been used in the past.

What happened this week is unlikely to be the last argument about the age of criminal responsibility. The issue will return.

But the Petition of Concern survives because most people accept there are circumstances in which it remains necessary. The challenge has always been ensuring that those circumstances remain exceptional.

Every time it is used to settle what appears to be an ordinary policy dispute, that distinction becomes a little harder to defend and every time that happens, the argument for revisiting the rules grows a little stronger.

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Suspected firearms and ammunition, a sum of cash, tobacco, counterfeit goods, criminal property and other items were also located during the searches.

Police have made three arrests and seized a significant quantity of suspected Class A, B and C drugs, firearms and other items following a search of a property in Co Tyrone. The searches were carried out in the Dungannon area on Friday, June 19 by PSNI officers from Mid Ulster District Support Team assisted by Torrent Neighbourhood Policing Team, Dungannon Local Policing Team, and the Armed Support Unit.

Suspected firearms and ammunition, a sum of cash, tobacco, counterfeit goods, criminal property and other items were also located during the searches. Enquiries are ongoing in relation to these seizures.

A male aged in his teens, a man aged in his 20s and a woman aged in her 40s were arrested on suspicion of offences including possession of Class A, B and D drugs, possession of Class A, B and C drugs with intent to supply, possession of criminal property, possession of a firearm, and possession of ammunition. They remain in custody at this time, assisting with enquiries.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Anyone tempted to become involved in illegal drugs should be under no illusion; we will seek to identify them, arrest them and place them before the courts. I would also like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone with any information about suspected drug dealing in their area to call the non-emergency number 101. “Alternatively, information can also be given anonymously to the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Thousands of passengers have been caught in disruption after a potentially suspicious item forced planes to divert at Edinburgh Airport.

Holidaymakers face disruption at the Scottish airport today after the suspect item sparked an evacuation.

Some flights are said to have been diverted to land at other nearby airports like Glasgow, while planes are also taking off from different locations.

The airport remains cordoned off as of 11pm, with the bomb disposal crews at the scene.

Scores of people are said to be stranded on planes on the tarmac after having landed, but are unable to disembark due to the ongoing incident.

Passenger Alan Jenkins said on X: ‘New update from our pilot: We are “all in the dark I’m afraid” as to when we can get off the plane. We’re told all ground staff have been told to return to offices.’

He joked that some of his fellow passengers had ‘a few questions’ regarding getting off in time before the Scotland World Cup game against Morocco is due to kick off tonight.

Police Scotland said: ‘Edinburgh airport has been evacuated as a precaution following a report of a potentially suspicious package, reported around 6.50pm on Friday, 19 June, 2026.

‘Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) are in attendance and a cordon is in place around the airport with roads closed.

‘Enquiries are ongoing and members of the public are advised to check ahead and contact their airline for updates.’

Edinburgh Airport said: ‘Due to reports of a potentially suspicious item, the airport has been evacuated while specialist teams investigate.

‘Updates will be issued when available.

‘Passengers should check with their airline for the latest information on their flight.’

Transport to and from the airport has also been impacted.

Edinburgh trams are also affected, with services currently running between Gyle Centre and St Andrew Square only.

Scottish Citylink buses said all services will be terminating at the Moxi hotel bus stop and picking up from Hilton bus stop until further notice.

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The Americans were deservedly ahead within 11 minutes, when the unfortunate Burgess put through his own net after a fantastic burst of pace from former Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun down the left. He burned his way past Jacob Italiano before squaring it into the middle for his onrushing team-mates, but it was Burgess, the Swansea City defender, who sliced past Patrick Beach to open the scoring.

Ipswich are close to appointing Gary O’Neil as their new head coach.

The 43-year-old is poised to replace Kieran McKenna, who stepped down from the Portman Road post earlier this month.

Compensation with O’Neil’s current club Strasbourg is still to be agreed, but is not expected to be an issue for the Tractor Boys.

Tim Jenkins and Neil Critchley are also expected to move to Suffolk with ex-Bournemouth and Wolves boss O’Neil, having worked with him in France.

Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was also in the running for the job this week.

BBC Sport reported Ipswich’s interest in O’Neil earlier this month and the Strasbourg boss has long been admired by the club’s hierarchy.

His French club finished eighth in Ligue 1 last season and reached the Europa Conference League semi-finals, losing to Rayo Vallacano. It was the first time Strasbourg had reached the last four of a European competition.

O’Neil played at Bristol City when current Ipswich chief executive Mark Ashton held the same role at Ashton Gate.

Strasbourg had initially been confident of keeping him following his January arrival, but O’Neil will return to the Premier League for the first time since leaving Wolves in December 2024.

Ipswich are looking for a new head coach after McKenna stepped down last week, despite leading them back to the top flight by finishing second in the Championship last season.

The 40-year-old took charge of the Tractor Boys in 2021 and led them to three promotions in the past four seasons, two of which have taken the club into the Premier League.

McKenna was linked with the Fulham job after Marco Silva’s departure, but quit Town to take a break from the game and spend more time with his family.

“I feel this is the right time for me to step aside,” he said. “I do so with great pride at the incredible progress we have made and with huge hope and optimism for the future of the club.”

Ipswich open their Premier League campaign at home to Sunderland on 22 August.

DALLAS (AP) — As people gathered across the U.S. to celebrate Juneteenth on Friday, former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama welcomed the first visitors to his presidential center.

Located on a sprawling campus on Chicago’s South Side, the center honoring the nation’s first Black president has been designed to inspire people to make the change they want to see in their own communities. It’s the kind of contemplation that also comes as Americans gather for Juneteenth, which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S.

The grand opening of the Obama Presidential Center includes days of events following Thursday’s star-studded dedication ceremony. In addition to greeting visitors Friday as the center opened to the public for the first time, the couple also read to children gathered there.

Tyrone Sturgis, 62, said it had been a beautiful experience to see all of the people from different walks of life explore the new presidential center on Friday.

“For this center to open on Juneteenth, on the South Side of Chicago, it’s extraordinary, it’s awesome,” he said.

The center’s public opening arrives as a symbolic convergence of legacy and liberation. The nation is deeply divided politically and grappling with renewed questions about the arc of racial progress as the Supreme Court hollowed out the Voting Rights Act, endangering Black political representation in Congress.

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The nearly 20-acre (8-hectare) campus includes a museum featuring a life-sized replica of the Oval Office, a garden designed by Michelle Obama complete with lettuce and strawberry plants, a professional-grade basketball court, a picnic area with grills and a new branch of the Chicago Public Library. Visitors can experience high-tech and hands-on exhibits spanning the campaigns, key moments of Obama’s presidency and life at the White House.

The spaces are designed to bring people together on a campus expected to draw as many as 1 million visitors annually, but the center also aims to encourage personal reflection. Louise Bernard, the museum’s director, has said they’re “inviting people to bring change home, however change may be defined, both small or large.”

The history of Juneteenth

This is the fifth year since Juneteenth was designated as a federal holiday by former President Joe Biden, who served as Obama’s vice president. But the celebrations, which began in Texas and then spread across the country, have a rich and long history in Black America, with the day often spent gathering for picnics and cookouts.

The holiday — a combination of “June” and “nineteenth” — marks the day when U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger and his troops arrived in the Texas port city with the declaration of freedom in General Order No. 3.

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Several cities across the U.S. will host walks named for Opal Lee, the Texas woman who pushed for years to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. Participants will walk 2 1/2 miles to symbolize the 2 1/2 years it took for the Emancipation Proclamation to be enforced in Texas. Lee, known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” turns 100 this year.

Reflecting on a continuing struggle

Black Texans embraced the date of Granger’s arrival as one to celebrate, even as the Ku Klux Klan was established in Texas by 1868. By the 1880s, “it was difficult to find a significant community in Texas where it wasn’t being marked by African Americans,” McDaniel said.

“They made it a community celebration, they made it a celebration of not only freedom but also a demonstration of community empowerment and institution-building,” he added.

Corey D.B. Walker, dean of Wake Forest University’s divinity school, said the holiday offers a way to recognize the nation’s “complex history” and what it means to be a U.S. citizen, especially amid efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to undermine the retelling of Black history.

“I think it really reminds people the importance of understanding a fuller, more robust portrait of our nation’s history and the many contributions of many individuals who have contributed to America’s experiment with democracy,” Walker said.

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Associated Press writer Claire Savage contributed to this report.