British two-man bobsleigh team Brad Hall and Taylor Lawrence suffered a disappointing start to their Olympic campaign – now sitting eighth at the halfway point of the competition.

Their combined time of 1:51:54 after two heats leaves them 1.64 seconds off the pace of German team Johannes Lochner and Georg Fleischhauer in top spot with two more German teams occupying the other podium places before Tuesday’s medal-deciding runs.

Hall and Lawrence, who is a serving Royal Marine, were unable to improve on their run-one position after a heavy bump near the top of the track on their second heat led to more errors and a struggle to make up time.

“It was definitely a very difficult day. The track is extremely difficult to be consistent down, especially in a bobsleigh,” said Hall, who is GB’s most decorated bobsleigh World Cup pilot.

“We didn’t quite do well enough on our second run, we lost quite a bit of time to some and gained on others. We need to go back to the drawing board and see what we can do better tomorrow.”

Pilot Hall will also lead the charge for a medal in the four-man event later this week. While Germany’s Francesco Friedrich, who is currently third, is aiming to do the treble double – win two and four-man gold for the third Games in a row.

Meanwhile, Adele Nicoll said she was “speechless” after a disappointing final run meant she finished 18th in the women’s monobob.

The Welsh slider, who is also a three-time British shot put champion, produced three solid runs before clocking 1:01:03, which she described as “the worst run of my life”, in the fourth heat.

“I know everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong and it is just one of those nightmare performances that I’ll hopefully move on from. I need to pull it together for the two-woman,” she said.

American Elana Meyers Taylor, 41, took gold to become the oldest Olympic champion at a Winter Games while Germany’s Laura Nolte was second and another American, Kaillie Armbruster Humphries was third.

A pipe rupture sent sewage flowing into the Potomac River northwest of Washington last month, and the fallout has been severe — with Donald Trump’s team “shirking its responsibility”

Donald Trump’s team has been accused of “shirking its responsibility” following a sewage leak in the US.

The US President was taunted by foes in the wake of what has been described as one of the largest sewage spills in US history, and saw raw waste spew into the Potomac River northwest of Washington, Maryland. Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for Maryland Governor Wes Moore, said the Trump administration is “shirking its responsibility” on the repair and cleanup.

He added: “The President has his facts wrong — again. Apparently the Trump administration hadn’t gotten the memo that they’re actually supposed to be in charge here. For the last four weeks, the Trump Administration has failed to act, shirking its responsibility and putting people’s health at risk”

Mr Trump had taken aim at Gov Moore over what he said is a lagging response to the pipe rupture, but a District of Columbia-based water authority and the federal government have jurisdiction over the busted pipe. Mr Moussa was quick to point out the Pesident was wrong with his assertion as he took the leader to task.

OPINION

Graham Hiscott

READ MORE: Donald Trump braces for war in Iran lasting ‘many weeks’ as US beefs up mass of warships

Advertisement

In fact, the 1960s-era pipe, called the Potomac Interceptor, is part of DC Water, a utility based in Washington that’s federally regulated and under the oversight of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Regardless, Mr Trump, 79, took to social media to say he “cannot allow incompetent local ‘leadership’ to turn the Potomac into a Disaster Zone.” He said he has ordered federal authorities to step in to coordinate the response.

“There is a massive ecological disaster unfolding in the Potomac River as a result of the gross mismanagement of local democrat leaders, particularly, Governor Wes Moore, of Maryland,” Mr Trump added in his social media post.

Advertisement

But Mr Moussa, representing the governor, swiftly hit back and said EPA officials did not participate in a recent legislative hearing about the cleanup. He then pointed the finger at Mr Trump for what he described as failing to take charge.

Researchers at the University of Maryland say the leak is one of the largest sewage spills in US history. The 72-inch (183-centimeter) diameter sewer pipe collapsed last month, leading to millions of gallons of wastewater shooting out of the ground and into the river.

DC Water CEO and general manager David L Gadis said in a statement on Monday: “We have been coordinating with US EPA since the Potomac Interceptor collapsed.” In a public hearing on Friday, DC Water officials said the rupture could take several weeks to fix – and that it could take months to make permanent repairs to the collapsed line.

A man has been charged with terrorism-related offences over a plot to carry out an attack at a Taylor Swift concert in 2024.

The now 21-year-old has been charged by Austrian prosecutors following his arrest shortly before the singer’s first Eras tour date in Vienna was due to take place.

Swift cancelled her three-night run in the city less than 24 hours before it was set to begin in August 2024.

The suspect is accused of planning to carry out an Islamist militant attack, and the Vienna prosecutors’ office plans to bring a criminal case against him in Wiener Neustadt, a town near the Austrian capital.

The man allegedly produced a small amount of the explosive triacetone triperoxide and attempted to purchase weapons illegally, a statement released on Monday said.

Read more:
Teenagers guilty of manslaughter after man lured to beach
Blackouts inside Russia after ‘massive’ Ukrainian attack

The statement referred to the suspect’s arrest in August 2024, in the same month Swift’s three Eras tour dates in Vienna were cancelled at short notice after Austrian authorities said they had foiled an attack.

It added that he was a member of Islamic State and is accused of carrying out online research into a type of shrapnel bomb used by the group, and of spreading Islamic State “propaganda material” online.

The suspect’s lawyer was ​not immediately available ​for comment, but has previously disputed accusations made against his client.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

A man has been arrested following the incident

One person has tragically lost their life, whilst two others are critically injured following a stabbing incident, according to police.

New South Wales (NSW) police confirmed that the trio were stabbed west of Sydney, Australia on Tuesday, February 17. Emergency services were called to a reported stabbing in Merrylands, approximately 30 kilometres from Sydney city centre, around 10am.

Officers from Cumberland Police Area Command arrived at the scene and were informed that a man had stabbed several people before fleeing the area on foot.

Paramedics from NSW Ambulance attended the scene and treated three individuals for severe injuries.

A representative for New South Wales Police stated: “The deceased is yet to be formally identified.”, reports the Mirror.

“Police have established a crime scene and have commenced an investigation.

“Following inquiries, a man was arrested on Smythe Street, Merrylands, and has been taken to Granville Police Station.

“As inquiries are ongoing, anyone with information is asked to contact Cumberland Police Area Command or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”

All that travelling north to make the Light shine brightly has been rubber-stamped by Knight being made an honorary life member, and he leaves with a sparkling account of Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin and Thomas Meehan’s 1977 musical.

He knows Annie so well – this is his fifth production – but by comparison, York Light has not revisited the show since 2001 when the late titan of the York am-dram stage, Bev Jones, was at the helm as director, choreographer and conductor.

“No nonsense but great,” as Gemma Kirk, one of his Annies, described him in her 2026 programme recollections, grateful for his guidance into “what it’s like in the real world of performing”.

Harriet Wells’ Annie and Primros’s Sandy in York Light Opera Company’s Annie at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography

In turn, Martyn Knight believes the greatest joy of Annie is the chance to see young talent blossom, in this case in the nine-strong Yellow Team (on press night) and Blue Team of orphans, being nurtured under the erratic, maladroit tutelage of Annabel van Griethuysen’s ever-tipsy Miss Hannigan under the shadow of the Wall Street Depression in 1933 New York City.

Among those orphans is the precocious, wilful Annie, a role shared between Harriet Wells, so impressive as Young Alison in Pick Me Up Theatre’s Fun Home at York Medical Society last year, and Hope Day, whose stage credits list already takes in the Grand Opera House pantomime Beauty And The Beast, Opera North’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Jemima Potts in York Stage’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and York Theatre Royal’s 2023 community play Sovereign.

Martin Lay’s Rooster and Annabel Van Griethuysen’s Miss Hannigan. Picture: Matthew Kitchen Photography

It was all Wells that starts Wells on press night ­– Day’s nights would follow – as Harriet affirmed all that promise in Fun Home in a musical production on a much grander stage and scale. She looked every inch at home as much as Primrose, the four-year-old Golden Labrador, in the role of Sandy, the stray dog she befriends on the Big Apple’s impoverished streets.

Harriet’s Annie, she of the ginger hair and eternal optimism, is the show’s driving force, determined to find her long-missing parents. Her opening song may be Maybe, but she has the positivity of Definitely, not Maybe. Harriet has the nascent singing chops, the American accent, and all the indefatigable energy, reminiscent of Judy Garland’s Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz.

Director-choreographer Knight and assistant director Kathryn Addison bring out the full characterisation in Miss Hannigan’s cheeky, defiant orphans (Yellow Team members Elizabeth Reece’s Duffy, Sophie Helme’s Pepper, Perdie Rolfe’s July, Belle Sturdy-Flannery’s Tessie, Bea Wells’s Kate, Lottie Barnes’s Lizzie, Leonore Thornton’s Lilly and the particularly exuberant Emilia Cole’s Molly). Their dancing is so full of joy; their singing in It’s The Hard Knock Life a thrill rather than shrill.

Knight’s first instinct was that Annabel Van Griethuysen – who he first directed in her York Light debut in Guys And Dolls in 2018 – might be a little young for the sozzled sourpuss role of Miss Hannigan, but her audition had “Cast me” written all over it, he said.

As her programme profile states, Miss Hannigan is “one of my favourite characters in one of my favourite musicals”, and that assertion is matched by Van Griethuysen’s woozy headache of a performance: that skill of ‘drunk’ acting, flask in hand, but without overplaying it, so that there is still humour, even pathos, in her villainy: at once a lush, but louche. She’s a mighty fine singer too, caustic in Little Girls, full of bravado in Easy Street.

From Mr Bumble in Oliver to Callaghan in Legally Blonde and especially cut-throat Sweeney in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, Neil Wood has put the dark into York Light shows aplenty, but here he shines as principled industrialist Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, influential friend of the President.

Warbucks may have a house full of servants and famous paintings (latest acquisition, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa), but something is missing from a life fuelled by making money and the need to reopen his factories. Annie, the orphan he gives a home for Christmas, opens his heart with her belief that “the sun’ll come out tomorrow”.

Wood’s partnership with Wells’s Annie is delightful – Warbucks blooms as she blossoms – while his singing is full of warmth, conviction and resonance, assertive in N.Y.C, questioning himself in Why Should I Change A Thing? and reflective in Something Was Missing.

Sarah Craggs’s unflappable Grace Farrell is ever supportive of Annie and Warbucks alike; Martin Lay’s Rooster and Chloe Jones’s Lily St Regis bring bags of wrong’un personality to grafter duo Rooster and Lily St Regis; Richard Weatherill makes a dapper radio show presenter, Bert Healy, performing Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile so perkily with Pascha Turnbull, Clare Meadley and Rhian Wells, who amuse as vintage harmony act The Boylan Sisters.

Fifty years after his York Light debut in Showboat (“when half the cast blacked up,” he recalls), John Hall brings gravitas to President Roosevelt, his singing as powerful as ever. Paul Laidlaw’s orchestra enrich every number, Scenic Projects’ set design and The Loft Costumes’ costumes are colourful and smart, adding to the high quality of Knight’s fantastic finale to his York Light years.

York Light Opera Company in Annie, York Theatre Royal, until February 21, 7.30pm plus 2pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

The infection can be prevented by having the MMR vaccine.

If you do get measles, it’s worth knowing the symptoms to look out for, when you need to call for medical help and how to avoid spreading it further.

The NHS website explains: “Measles usually starts with cold-like symptoms, followed by a rash a few days later. Some people may also get small spots in their mouth.”

‘Big measles outbreak’ reported in London in 2026

A “big measles outbreak” in parts of London is affecting unvaccinated children under the age of 10, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed.

It said the outbreak in schools and nurseries in north-east London had left some children requiring hospital treatment.

The agency had previously reported 34 laboratory-confirmed measles cases in Enfield from January 1 to February 9.

Now, more than 60 suspected cases of measles have been reported by seven schools and a nursery in Enfield, the Sunday Times reports.

What are the measles symptoms you should know about?

Cold-like symptoms can include a high temperature, a runny or blocked nose, sneezing, a cough or red, sore and watery eyes.

You might start to notice small white spots in the mouth, including inside the cheeks and on the back of the lips. It’s not unusual for these spots to last for a few days.

Once you’ve had the cold-like symptoms for a few days, you will probably start to develop a rash, which usually starts on the face and behind the ears. It then spreads to the rest of the body, the NHS explains.

🆕 We’re excited to announce the launch of a new government campaign urging parents and guardians to get their little ones vaccinated to protect against serious illnesses such as measles.
🔗 https://t.co/iT1c5LUCvR
#StayStrongGetVaccinated pic.twitter.com/3iXvwipiMe

— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) February 16, 2026

Advertisement

The rash isn’t usually itchy, and sometimes the measles rash can be raised and join other parts to make blotchy patches.

On white skin, the rash often looks red or brown, but it can sometimes be harder to see on black or brown skin.

The NHS adds: “It’s very unlikely to be measles if you’ve had both doses of the MMR vaccine or you’ve had measles before.”

When should you ask for an urgent GP appointment or call 999?

The NHS outlines when you should ask for an urgent GP appointment or call 111, including if:

• you think you or your child may have measles
• your child is under 1 year old and has come into contact with someone who has measles
• you’ve been in close contact with someone who has measles and you’re pregnant or have a weakened immune system
• you or your child have a high temperature that has not come down after taking paracetamol or ibuprofen
• you or your child have difficulty breathing – you may feel more short of breath than usual
• your baby or young child is not feeding well, or taking less feeds or fluids than usual
• you or your child are weeing less than usual (or your baby has fewer wet nappies)
• you or your child feels very unwell, or you’re worried something is seriously wrong

The health service added: “Measles can spread to others easily. Call your GP surgery before you go in. They may suggest talking over the phone.

“You can also call 111 or get help from 111 online .”

A blotchy, sometimes raised, rash is one of the signs of measles. It’s not usually itchy, and it can look different on different skin tones. 🧒🏼🔴🧒🏾

If you think you or your child has measles, contact your GP practice urgently or call NHS 111. 📞 pic.twitter.com/oSPUcgdSCa

— UK Health Security Agency (@UKHSA) February 16, 2026

You should call 999 or go to A&E if you or your child has measles and:

• have a seizure (fit)
• severe difficulty breathing – you’re gasping, choking or not able to get words out (babies may make grunting noises or their stomach may suck under their ribcage)
• are unable to stay awake – cannot keep their eyes open for more than a few seconds
• suddenly become confused – your child may be very unsettled, behaving differently, or crying non-stop
• your child is limp, floppy or not responding normally – their head may fall to the side, backwards or forwards, or they may find it difficult to lift their head and focus on your face
• a rash that does not fade when you press a glass against it
• a stiff neck or find light uncomfortable or painful

How is measles spread?

Measles will spread when a person who is infected coughs, sneezes or breathes.

The NHS said: “You’re infectious from when you first have symptoms (around 4 days before the rash appears) until 4 days after you get the rash.”

Recommended reading:

If you have measles, it’s advised that you wash your hands often using soap and warm water, use tissues to cough and sneeze into and throw them away in the bin when finished with them.

It’s important that you avoid sharing cutlery, cups, towels, clothes and bedding.

You can find out more about measles via the NHS website (linked above).

This comes after Sarah Ferguson appears to say to Epstein, “I am at your service. Just marry me”, in files released last month.

Six companies linked to Sarah Ferguson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s ex-wife, are being wound down in the wake of the publication of the Epstein files, according to Companies House documents. Sarah was the sole director of all six companies, none of which have much public profile.

According to Companies House, an application to strike off each company was filed after new revelations about Sarah’s contact with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein came to light with the publication of millions of documents by US authorities. In documents released last month, the former duchess appears to say to Epstein: “I am at your service. Just marry me.”

In an email exchange from September 21 2011, she apparently wrote: “Don’t know if you are still on this bbm but heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy. Even though you never kept in touch, I still am here with love, friendship and congratualtions (sic) on your baby boy. Sarah xx”

The email is then followed up with a message saying: “You have disappeared. I did not even know you were having a baby. It was soooo crystal clear to me that you were only friends with me to get to Andrew. And that really hurt me deeeply (sic). More than you will know.”

Many of the exchanges are dated after Epstein was convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a child. The companies being wound down by the former duchess of York are: S Phoenix Events, Fergie’s Farm, La Luna Investments, Solamoon Ltd, Philanthrapreneur Ltd and Planet Partners Productions Ltd, none of which appear to have been very active.

According to the Government website, applying to strike a company off the register is also known as “dissolving” a company, and is a way to close down a company that has not traded in three months. Late last year, after she lost her courtesy royal divorcee title, Sarah submitted an official change to her details for all the firms from Sarah Duchess of York to Sarah Margaret Ferguson.

Days after the new details emerged about the former duchess’s friendship with Epstein, Sarah’s Trust, a charity she had founded, also announced it would close “for the foreseeable future”.

A representative for the former duchess has been contacted for comment.

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE

A spokesperson for NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership, which provides payroll services to NHS staff in Wales, said “in line with NHS Wales recovery of overpayments guidance, debt collection agencies may be used as a last resort when all local attempts to recover outstanding public monies have been exhausted”.

CONCORDIA, Mexico (AP) — Deep in the coastal mountains above the sparkling Pacific resort of Mazatlan, towns spaced along a twisting road appear nearly deserted, the quiet broken only by the occasional passing truck.

It was near one of these towns, Panuco, that 10 employees of a Canadian-owned silver and gold mine were abducted in late January. The bodies of five were located nearby and five more await identification.

Most residents of these towns have fled out of fear as two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel have been locked in battle since September 2024, said Fermín Labrador, a 68-year-old from the nearby village of Chirimoyos. Others, he said, were “invited” to leave.

The abduction of the mine workers under still unclear circumstances has raised fears locally and more widely generated questions about the security improvements touted by President Claudia Sheinbaum. She signaled her more aggressive stance toward drug cartels in Sinaloa with captures and drug seizures after she took office in late 2024. It has been one year since she sent 10,000 National Guard troops to the northern border to try to head off U.S. tariffs over the cartels’ fentanyl trafficking, much of which comes from Sinaloa.

In January, Sheinbaum held up a sharp decline in homicide rates last year as evidence that her security strategy was working.

“What these kinds of episodes do is demolish the federal government’s narrative that insists that little by little they are getting control of the situation,” said security analyst David Saucedo. He said Sheinbaum had tried to “manage the conflict” while the Sinaloa Cartel’s internal war spread and split the state by obliging people “to take a side with one of the two groups.”

Fleeting security

The mine workers’ disappearance in late January brought more troops into the mountains as they searched by air and on the ground for signs of them.

Sheinbaum took office in October 2024, when Sinaloa was entering a new spiral of violence following the abduction of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada by a son of former cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Zambada was handed over to U.S. authorities and his faction of the cartel went to war with the faction led by Guzmán’s sons.