Clyde Valley High in Wishaw, St Andrew’s High in Coatbridge and Chryston High have new recycling bins located around the school grounds.

Pupils at three secondary schools in North Lanarkshire are playing their part in reducing litter and carbon emissions in their communities.

Clyde Valley High in Wishaw, St Andrew’s High in Coatbridge and Chryston High have new recycling bins located around the school grounds.

The bins were provided by the council’s waste services team as a pilot project. Each bin has sections for paper and card, glass, metal and plastic, and general waste.

Pupils from the Sustainability Group at Clyde Valley High School met Councillor Helen Loughran, Convener of the Environment and Climate Change Committee, Councillor Anne McCrory, Vice Convener of the Education, Children and Families Committee, to explain how they are promoting recycling and carbon awareness across the school.

The Sustainability Committee members said: “The new bins make it easier for everyone to recycle and really support the projects we’re leading to make our school more sustainable.”

Yvonne McKenna, acting headteacher at Clyde Valley High, said: “We are very proud of the work of our Sustainability Committee and are glad to have the facilities to support the improvements pupils are leading in this crucial area.”

“Recycling our waste is a simple but important way we can all help reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change,” Councillor Loughran explained.

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“Our kerbside waste service makes it easy for residents to recycle their household rubbish, and by providing these bins in schools, we are encouraging young people to dispose of their litter responsibly from an early age.”

“Well done to the pupils at Clyde Valley, Chryston and St Andrew’s High Schools for raising awareness of the impact of litter on our local communities,” said Councillor McCrory.

“It was inspiring to hear the commitment and enthusiasm of the members of the Clyde Valley High Sustainability Group in making a difference to the environmental issues affecting us all.”

The council is supporting environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Spring Clean campaign which starts on 13 March and brings people together to take part in community litter picks.

Sign up at Spring Clean Scotland | Keep Scotland Beautiful.

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The A64 will be shut overnight between Staxton and Seamer.

A spokesperson for National Highways said: “We’re carrying out essential carriageway repairs, technical surveys and routine maintenance on the A64 between Staxton and Seamer.

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“To protect the workforce and drivers during the works, we will need to close the route in both directions between Staxton and Seamer on the nights of 16, 17, 18 and 19 March.

“Each closure will take place overnight (9pm-6am).

“During the closures, traffic will be diverted via the A1039 and A165. Local access will be maintained.

“While these are essential maintenance and repairs, we will try to minimise disruption as much as possible.”

For more information go to https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/yorkshire-and-north-east/yorkshire-and-north-east-maintenance-schemes

Javonnie Tavener was sentenced to five years and four months after killing Mayar Yahia as she walked home from Eid celebrations with her family on Upper Highgate Street in Birmingham

A motorist who killed a four year old girl in a collision as she walked home from Eid celebrations with her family has been imprisoned.

Javonnie Tavener, 23, previously admitted causing death by careless driving after striking little Mayar Yahia with his vehicle on Upper Highgate Street in Birmingham on April 14, 2024. The collision also left two others – Mayar’s mother, Sara, and another mother, Awadia Hammed – seriously injured.

Tavener also pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by careless driving and a further charge of causing death whilst driving uninsured.

At Birmingham Crown Court today, Tavener was imprisoned for three years and 10 months for offences related to careless driving. He received an additional 18-month sentence for assaulting and attempting to strangle his girlfriend several weeks later, bringing his total imprisonment to five years and four months.

He was also banned from driving for six years, reports the Mirror.

The same court previously heard that two vehicles collided before Tavener’s Vauxhall Corsa crashed through a barrier and into the group. During the sentencing hearing, the judge heard that following the collision Tavener remained at the scene for nine seconds before reversing, causing Mayar to be dragged by the vehicle.

He and a passenger then exited the car and fled on foot, the court was told.

Emergency services arrived at the scene and discovered Mayar on the roadside, where she was tragically declared dead. One of the women Tavener injured spent nearly a month in hospital and needed surgery, whilst the other remained hospitalised for approximately three weeks.

In a statement read to the court on Friday, Mayar’s father, Babiker Yahia, explained how the family lived close to the crash scene, providing them with a “constant reminder” of the tragedy.

“I stayed with Mayar when she was taken from the collision and transported to hospital – that night will remain with me forever,” he said.

He added that Mayar was the third of four children and was “full of love, always smiling” and “kind to everyone”. “Mayar’s siblings were with her at the time of the collision, [they] were young and witnessed it,” he said.

“They have been exposed to so much trauma, and we do not know how this will shape their lives as they grow.”

Sentencing, His Honour Judge Cooke said Tavener had been driving at excessive speed whilst attempting to overtake another vehicle in a 20mph zone at night, “with cannabis in your system and using a phone”. The judge continued: “The victim was a vulnerable pedestrian – you were on your phone, it was a car with no insurance. You said you were a rear passenger instead of the driver. The passenger’s post incident conduct was a disgraceful as yours.

“You abandoned the car at the scene, after reversing, presumably to try to leave, dragging little Mayar. You walked off calling for your girlfriend.

“The callous way in which you walked away from the mayhem was sickening to watch. You blamed a phantom driver.”

Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, from the West Midlands Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit, previously said: “Mayar was just four years old when her life was tragically taken away from her. She was walking back with her family and friends after celebrating Eid.

“Pedestrians should be afforded and be reassured of protection when walking on the pavement and a split-second decision by Tavener to overtake where he did has led to this tragic chain of events. I would urge all drivers to think about this incident and how those decisions can have such catastrophic consequences.”

The Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix that were scheduled for next month are set to be cancelled as a result of the war in the Middle East.

A formal decision to call off the races has not yet been made but is expected before the end of the weekend.

Freight would need to start being shipped to the Middle East in the coming days. With no sign of the conflict between the US/Israel and Iran coming to a conclusion, holding the races would put personnel at too great a risk.

Neither event will be replaced, with the season being cut to 22 grands prix and F1 taking a commercial hit of more than £100m, given Bahrain and Saudi Arabia pay two of the highest hosting fees.

The race in Bahrain was scheduled to be on 12 April with Jeddah the following weekend.

Consideration was given to holding events at Portimao in Portugal, Imola in Italy or Istanbul Park in Turkey.

But it was accepted that the time to organise a race at any of those locations was too short, and there was little chance of securing a hosting fee.

The decision will mean there is a five-week break between the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March and Miami on 3 May.

Dozens of MPs are calling for the government to formally apologise for Britain’s actions during its administration of Palestine in the first part of the 20th century.

In September, the Britain Owes Palestine campaign group submitted a 400-page legal petition to the government, but has yet to receive a response.

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Leading British KCs Ben Emmerson and Danny Friedman wrote the substantial document, which provides details of what they say are unlawful actions and war crimes committed during the British occupation of the region between 1917 and 1948.

It says Britain unlawfully failed to recognise Arab self-determination, lacked proper legal authority for the Balfour Declaration and the subsequent mandate, and committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, arbitrary detention and mass home demolitions.

Alongside the petition, 45 MPs and peers from all parties signed an open letter calling on the British government to formally apologise, as they say the UK must confront its historical role and responsibility to support peace efforts today.

Palestine 1917-1948

In 1917, the Balfour Declaration was signed as the British pledged support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

From 1920, the League of Nations (the precursor to the UN) formally granted Britain a mandate (known as the British Mandate for Palestine), which required them to facilitate Jewish immigration and self-governance in the territory – resulting in conflicting promises for both the Jewish people and Palestinians.

There were periodic violent uprisings, and in 1948, following the failure of the 1947 UN partition plan, Britain handed responsibility to the UN and withdrew, resulting in the State of Israel being established.

MP: Britain violated international laws

Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, who is the first British MP of Palestinian descent, said: “During its occupation of Palestine, Britain violated a series of international laws that were binding at the time.

“The consequences of those actions have profoundly shaped the conflict we witness today, yet successive governments have refused to acknowledge this record or offer a formal apology.

“If Britain is serious about promoting peace in Gaza today, it must begin by confronting its historical role, recognising the harm caused, and taking meaningful responsibility for it.”

Read more:
More than 1,000 councillors sign Palestine solidarity pledge
UK, France and Canada recognising Palestine has serious implications

Apology would be meaningful to Palestinians

Legal expert Victor Kattan, who helped write the petition, told Sky News: “Our main ask is for an official public apology from the prime minister and a conversation about reparations.

“This project long preceded the government last year recognising Palestine, and that is a good step, but without an apology, it doesn’t address the past.

“An apology would be very meaningful to the Palestinian people, it’s a form of catharsis, recognising someone’s pain and suffering, even if it’s in the past.”

Professor Kattan, assistant professor in public international law at the University of Nottingham, said they are not asking for direct payments as part of reparations, but would appreciate that period being part of the national curriculum in schools, and for it to be detailed in museums.

A memorial would also be something they would appreciate, he added.

Palestinian philanthropist Munib Al-Masri, 91, is leading the petition after being shot by British soldiers as a boy, with shrapnel still in his body.

He said: “What Britain did in Palestine did not end when it left in 1948. The policies and violence of that period helped create the conditions for the calamity we are living through today. An official apology is about recognising that history and the harm it continues to cause.”

The Foreign Office said it does not routinely comment on petitions.

Plans for a 618-space multi-storey car park at Cambridge North station have divided opinion, with some saying it’s desperately needed while others warn it will worsen traffic

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Cambridgeshire Live readers have been debating plans for a multi-storey car park at Cambridge North railway station. Some readers say it will help drivers and make trips easier.

Others say it will add to traffic, does not fit with ‘sustainable’ travel, and ignores bikes and buses. Chesterton Partnership has proposed to build a three-storey car park with 618 spaces on land north of Cowley Road in Cambridge.

The plans form part of the Cambridge North development. If approved, plans said the car park will provide a “strategically located parking infrastructure”.

The applicants added: “This arrangement establishes a clear and legible search pattern for drivers, improving wayfinding, reducing potential vehicle conflicts, and enhancing overall safety within the deck environment.”

For some, additional spaces are welcomed. Banthebikes says: “This is great news for car drivers and hopefully it will be full every day.”

Neil McArthur agrees that demand is genuine: “Yes, people actually drive in & around Cambridge, and desperately need convenient & affordable parking spaces across our city.”

Others argue the proposal misses the point entirely. Freddly writes: “There is nothing sustainable in this plan, and it needs to be turned down. Traffic simply expands to fill the space available – the last 40 years have taught us that. Even if this was considered ‘park and ride’ for the station, there is nothing virtuous or sustainable about driving to a station to take a train.”

Charlesbranston asks: “Any plans on finally creating a safe place for commuters to leave their bikes? Or should we all continue to use the main station in the absence of somewhere reasonably safe to lock up a bike, with at least the glimmer of hope that it hasn’t already been pinched before your return journey?”

Windypants believes: “This will just escalate the already terrible congestion throughout the city. There should be no parking at all at any station in Cambridge. Walking is good for you! As is cycling!”

Calumen Nomen disagrees: “No – they have taught us that if you recklessly expand the population, then you will also expand the activities and services that population generates and requires. Such as traffic. btw – we have ‘sustained’ driving for well over a hundred years now. How much longer before the fuzzy-minded element amongst us accepts that it is very obviously ‘sustainable’ (as if that matters)?”

Is this car park really needed? Comment below or HERE to join in the conversation.

KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) — A former New York state trooper accused of ramming his vehicle into an SUV during a high-speed chase leading to the death of an 11-year-old girl was convicted of manslaughter Friday at his second trial.

Prosecutors say Christopher Baldner rammed the SUV twice on the New York State Thruway, causing it to lose control and flip over. Eleven-year-old Monica Goods, who was in the SUV, was killed in the December 2020 crash. Baldner’s attorneys said the accident occurred after the SUV cut the trooper off as he pulled alongside during the pursuit.

A jury acquitted Baldner of murder and reckless endangerment charges in November, but they deadlocked on a second-degree manslaughter charge. Judge Bryan Rounds declared a mistrial and a second trial on the lone remaining charge began last month.

Assistant State Attorney General Jennifer Gashi told jurors during Baldner’s latest trial that he chose to “recklessly use his patrol car as a weapon” during the chase north of New York City. Defense attorney Anthony Ricco argued it was the driver of the SUV — Monica’s father, Tristin Goods — who acted recklessly and caused her death, according to the Daily Freeman.

Baldner pulled Tristin Goods over for speeding on the highway near Kingston the night of Dec. 22, 2020. Goods, his wife and two daughters were heading north from New York City to visit family.

Baldner and Goods argued, and the trooper pepper-sprayed the inside the vehicle. Goods drove off and Baldner pursued.

Defense attorneys said Goods collided with Baldner’s trooper car twice during the pursuit. An accident reconstruction expert for the defense testified that Goods lost control of the SUV when he overcorrected after “a very minor impact,” the newspaper reported.

The ex-trooper retired in 2022 after almost 20 years with the state police.

In the two weeks since the US and Israeli strikes on Iran began, Donald Trump’s war aims have fluctuated between crippling Iranian military capabilities and toppling the regime that has ruled there since 1979. But despite the success of the initial strikes, which killed the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, many analysts believe that air power alone will not be sufficient to bring about regime change.

They say this objective would be impossible to achieve without combat troops on the ground, a move that most US military and political leaders have long opposed. Instead, one idea that seems to be circulating in Washington is to support an invasion by armed Kurdish groups in Iraq and western Iran to destabilise the Islamic Republic from within.

Trump publicly backed away from this idea on March 6, telling reporters: “I don’t want the Kurds to go into Iran … The war is complicated enough as it is.” But, given Trump’s trademark inconsistency and the unpredictable nature of this conflict, an armed Kurdish uprising remains a distinct possibility. Such a scenario could have consequences that extend far beyond Iran.

The Kurds are an ethnic group with their own language and culture who have lived in a mountainous area of the Middle East for centuries. Nowadays, they number around 30 million and live in a region that spans parts of Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The Kurds are widely considered to be the world’s largest stateless people because they do not have a country of their own.

This situation dates to the end of the first world war, when the Ottoman empire collapsed. Kurdish leaders at that time hoped to establish their own state, having lived for 400 years under Ottoman rule. But instead their homeland was divided between several new countries that emerged from the defeated Ottoman state. This left Kurdish communities split across international borders.

Around 10% of Iran’s population is Kurdish and many live in the country’s north-west near the borders of Iraq and Turkey. The Kurdish region of Iran has long been the least economically developed part of the country and Kurdish political parties are outlawed. Armed Kurdish groups have periodically clashed with the Iranian state, demanding greater autonomy or independence.

The Kurdish question is even more sensitive in Turkey, which is home to the largest population of Kurds in the world. Since 1984, the Turkish state has been locked in conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), an armed group that has fought to establish an independent Kurdish state. This conflict has killed more than 40,000 people in the past four decades.

For the Turkish government, the possibility that the US may support Kurdish fighters in neighbouring Iran is therefore not just a foreign policy issue. Turkish leaders worry that strengthening Kurdish armed groups elsewhere in the region could embolden similar movements inside Turkey itself.

In the recent past, Turkey has launched military incursions into the Kurdish regions of Iraq and Syria. It has also fought a brutal counterinsurgency against PKK fighters inside its own borders. These actions show how strongly Turkish leaders oppose any notion of Kurdish independence anywhere in the region.

American support for Kurdish fighters has caused tension between the US and Turkey in the past. Turkey strongly opposed the partnership between Washington and Syrian Kurdish forces during the fight against the Islamic State militant group in Syria in the late 2010s. It argued that some of these Kurdish groups were linked to the PKK.

Turkey’s relations with Israel have also been strained by the Kurdish question. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has accused the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, of undermining the transitional Syrian government by aiding Kurdish groups there. The Kurdish issue has clearly become a major source of tension between Turkey, a key member of the Nato alliance, and the west.

So far, Turkey has largely remained neutral in the Iran war. Despite their regional rivalry, Turkish and Iranian leaders share concerns about Kurdish separatist movements and have sometimes cooperated to contain them. In the past, security forces from both countries have coordinated efforts against Kurdish militant groups operating along their shared border.

Turkish and Iranian officials have also exchanged intelligence and carried out military operations against Kurdish fighters moving between the two countries. And both governments strongly opposed the 2017 referendum on independence that was held by the Kurds in northern Iraq. Over 92% of votes were cast in favour of independence.

Iranian regime change

For Turkey, the collapse or fragmentation of the Iranian state would be deeply worrying. It could create exactly the conditions Turkish leaders fear most: armed Kurdish groups operating across a much longer and more unstable border.

Another concern is the possibility of a new refugee crisis. Turkey already hosts nearly 4 million Syrians following the civil war that began there in 2011 – the largest refugee population in the world. This has become a major political issue inside Turkey.

If conflict or state collapse in Iran – a larger and even more politically complex state than Syria – triggers large-scale displacement, many more refugees could head west towards Turkey. Such a scenario would place considerable political and economic pressure on the government.

Washington may see the Kurds as a useful way to confront the Iranian regime without deploying American troops. But such a strategy could create new tensions elsewhere in the region. For Turkey, Kurdish militancy is not simply a foreign policy issue but a core national security concern.

If the Iran war ends up empowering Kurdish armed groups or destabilising Turkey’s border, Erdoğan may yet feel compelled to respond. This could open up another front in an already expanding regional conflict.

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