Author: Loveworld UK

The US has called on Russia to end its support for the Syrian regime after at least 70 people were killed in an alleged chemical attack. The State Department in Washington said it was closely following the “disturbing reports” from the city of Douma in eastern Ghouta, which an aid group with links to opposition forces in the region said had been subjected to “one of the worst chemical attacks in Syrian history” late on Saturday.As well as the dead, more than 500 other civilians were injured in the strike, the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations (UOSSM) told…

Barclays is preparing to kick off the hunt for a successor to chairman John McFarlane, paving the ‎way for the third change at the top of Britain’s second-largest bank since 2012. Sky News has learnt that Crawford Gillies, Barclays’ senior independent director, is expected to instruct headhunters shortly to conduct a wide s‎earch for its next chairman.Mr McFarlane is expected to step down at the bank’s annual meeting next year, although the timetable remains fluid and could be extended, according to people close to the bank.Among the leading candidates to replace him will be Sir Gerry Grimstone, who has announced…

Britain has accused Russia of “pursuing a diversionary tactic” after the country’s London embassy requested a meeting with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to discuss the Salisbury poisonings. The request came just a day after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was revealed to be “responding well to treatment”.There is growing speculation that Mr Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, who is also recovering, may be able to help the investigation.Britain says the Skripals were poisoned with a nerve agent, novichok, and that it is “highly likely” Russia was to blame – something Moscow has denied.In a statement on its website,…

Syrian forces have renewed their attack on rebel areas in eastern Ghouta after talks to arrange a withdrawal failed. A heavy bombardment of the opposition holdout of Douma, outside Damascus, left 40 civilians dead on Friday, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.A further eight civilians were killed on Saturday, the Observatory added.It was hoped a deal had been struck to allow fighters to withdraw from the area, which has been dubbed “hell on Earth” because of the conditions in which people live. Video: Young man pulled from rubble in Douma Fighters from Jaish al Islam were last week…

Police must increase their use of stop and search to help combat a rise in violent crime, a senior officer has said. Sara Thornton, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, says that while the power may have been used too freely in the past, the “pendulum has now swung in the opposite direction”.Ms Thornton’s intervention comes amid concern about violent crime in London.The Metropolitan Police has opened 55 murder investigations this year. Among these is the investigation into the death of teenager Tanesha Melbourne-Blake, 17, who was killed in Tottenham on Monday.There were six non-fatal stabbings in the capital…

A photographer has died a day after being shot while covering protests on the Israel-Gaza border. Video images show Yaser Murtaja, a cameraman for Palestinian Ain Media, was wearing a “press” flak jacket as he was led away on a stretcher.Health officials said a bullet had penetrated the side of his chest and he died of his injuries in hospital on Saturday.The 30-year-old was one of nine people killed and more than 1,000 injured by Israeli troops in another day of bloody clashes on the Gaza border. Image: Protesters set alight tyres to create a smoke screen from sniper fire…

The British luxury car-maker Aston Martin is lining up a trio of banks to lead a prospective £4bn stock market listing that could take place within months. Sky News has learnt that the manufacturer of James Bond’s vehicle of choice is close to hiring Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan as the global co-ordinators for a long-awaited initial public offering (IPO).The appointment of the three investment banks is understood to have been recommended by board members and is awaiting sign-off from Aston Martin’s two Italian and Kuwaiti shareholders, according to insiders.If confirmed, the move will see Deutsche, Goldman and JPM…

A man has been arrested over the shooting dead of 17-year-old Tanesha Melbourne-Blake in Tottenham on Monday. She was killed in north London on 2 April amid a recent rise in murders in the capital – most of them involving knives.Police believe the shots were fired into a group of people from a car.A 30-year-old was arrested in the east of the city on Friday morning on suspicion of murder. He remains in custody at a London police station.Officers were called to Chalgrove Road at 9.35pm on Monday and found Tanesha with a gunshot wound.Despite efforts to save her, she…

Sergei Skripal is no longer in a critical condition following last month’s nerve agent attack, Salisbury District Hospital says. The former Russian double agent is “responding well to treatment” and is “improving rapidly”, said Dr Christine Blanshard, medical director at the hospital.The 66-year-old and his daughter Yulia, 33, have been under the watch of medics since they were attacked with novichok at their home in Salisbury, Wiltshire.The pair were rushed to hospital after shoppers found them collapsed on a bench at The Maltings shopping centre on 4 March. Video: Yulia Skripal thanks the people of Salisbury On Thursday, Ms Skripal…

Poisoned spy Sergei Skripal is no longer in a critical condition and his daughter says her strength is “growing daily”. Just a few weeks ago they were seemingly on the brink of death – so how did they survive? Alastair Hay, Professor of Environmental Toxicology at Leeds University, tells Sky News how they may have fought off the novichok nerve agent and managed a “miracle” recovery.:: But first, how dangerous is novichok really?”The nerve agents are deadly,” says Prof Hay.”That’s why they were chosen as chemical weapons. If you are exposed to a number of lethal doses then invariably it…