Elon Musk has officially left DOGE. But experts warn that the billionaire could take the trove of data DOGE amassed with him — and that the agency’s digging around federal data systems may well carry on.
The suspect, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, had arrived in 2022 on a tourist visa from Egypt and stayed after the visa expired, an official said. Eight people were injured in the attack.
Significant flooding affected Nigeria last week, with more than 150 deaths reported so far. Heavy rain struck the north of the country on Wednesday night and continued into Thursday, leading to flooding along the Niger River, displacing thousands and destroying hundreds of homes. The district head said it was the region’s worst flood in 60 years.
Heavy rain is not unusual at this time of year in Nigeria. The country has a tropical climate and is influenced by the west African monsoon, with the wet season running from April until October. This type of seasonality is linked to land-sea temperature differences, alongside the shifting intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), a band of low pressure roughly around the equator that shifts north and south with the angle of the sun.
From March to September, the sun favours the northern hemisphere, meaning there is greater incoming solar radiation here during this time. As land heats up faster than water, this creates surface low pressure over west Africa as air ascends over the region, which then allows moister air to move in from the Atlantic to later fall out as rain.
Additionally, the ITCZ moves northwards during the northern hemisphere summer, meaning this region of low pressure is now situated over north Africa, allowing for more precipitation there. In contrast, during the northern hemisphere winter, the ITCZ shifts southwards, leading to drier conditions in west Africa under higher pressure.
This week, Niger and Nigeria will continue to experience rainfall but also below-average temperatures. These will fall about 10C below normal early this week, with daytime maximums in the mid to high 20s compared with a climate average of mid- to high 30s Celsius.
Northern Africa also had some extreme weather, with a severe summer storm hitting Alexandria in Egypt on Saturday. The city was battered by heavy rain, strong winds and hail, which flooded the streets and caused power outages.
The conditions were attributed to a cold front linked to an area of low pressure that moved into Egypt over the weekend. The cold front introduced moisture and forced the warm air to rise, which later condensed, forming storm clouds. Although storms are common there in the winter and spring, they occur less frequently closer to summer.
xiaobao520123: IT 行业技术发展飞快，永远不能指望大学教育能教给学生多少。 毕业那几年正是犯了这样的错误，以为学校教的技术能应付当时的校园招聘也就那样就够了，靠学校 title 和所学知识便能稳入大厂，之后一路飞升。 然而即便是程序员岗位，也摆脱不了“职场生存”那一套框架。但可悲的是，这项技能学校不教，也永远不会教。
Prime Minister Keir Starmer cited “growing Russian aggression” as he outlined ambitious rearmament plans, including building up to 12 attack submarines.
A new study found that courts in the state, where many big companies reside, often cleared big payouts to lawyers. It may further embolden the state’s critics.
The former assistant is being questioned by the mogul’s lawyers, who say her account of sex abuse and violence is at odds with the warmth she showed him on social media.
An exercise programme for colon cancer patients can cut the risk of dying by a third, a major international trial shows.
The researchers said it was "not a large amount" of exercise and any type of workout from swimming to salsa classes counted.
The results could change the way colon cancer is treated around the world.
Scientists are already investigating whether similar exercise regimes could improve survival for people with other diseases, such as breast cancer.
"It's a bit of a mind-shift, thinking of treatment as something you do, not just something you take," says researcher Prof Vicky Coyle from Queen's University Belfast.
In the trial, the three-year exercise programme started soon after chemotherapy.
The aim was to get people doing at least double the amount of exercise set out in the guidelines for the general population.
That could be three-to-four sessions of brisk walking a week, lasting 45-60 minutes, Prof Coyle says.
People got weekly face-to-face coaching sessions for the first six months, which then dropped to once a month.
The trial, involving 889 patients, put half on the exercise programme. The other half were given leaflets promoting a healthy lifestyle.
The results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, showed after five years:
80% of people exercising remained cancer-free
compared with 74% in the other group
meaning a 28% reduction in the risk of the cancer coming back, or a new one forming
Meanwhile, eight years after the initial cancer treatment:
10% of people on the exercise programme died
compared with 17% in the group given only health advice
marking a 37% lower risk of death
Exactly why exercise has this beneficial effect is unknown, but ideas include the impact on growth hormones, inflammation levels in the body and how the immune system functions - which patrols the body for cancer.
Dr Joe Henson, from the University of Leicester, said the results were "exciting".
He added: "I saw first-hand that this reduced fatigue, lifted people's mood and boosted their physical strength.
"We know that physical activity regulates several key biological processes that could explain these results, and further research will help us uncover why exercise is having such a positive impact."
Colon cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with around 31,800 people diagnosed each year.
Caroline Geraghty, from Cancer Research UK, said: "This trial has the potential to transform clinical practice, but only if health services have the necessary funding and staff to make it a reality for patients."
Lenders tend to allow mortgage terms up to a maximum of 40 years.
These have been popular among first-time buyers, many of whom are in their 30s, who are stretching their finances to allow them to buy a property.
It meant the average term for a mortgage lengthened in 2022-23, and has not really dropped since.
While many young homeowners are choosing these long mortgage terms to make repayments more manageable, they may opt for shorter terms in the future if their salaries improve or they move house.
UK Finance said the amount they initially spent on mortgage payments relative to their income was still high.
"Even as interest rates have come down, this measure of affordability has not eased significantly, with rising house prices largely offsetting any lowering of payments through falling rates," its review of household finances said.
Temporary changes to thresholds, made in 2022, reverted back in April. It means buyers of properties in England and Northern Ireland now pay stamp duty on homes bought for more than £125,000. First-time buyers pay on homes bought for more than £300,000.
The UK Finance data shows that property completion numbers were much higher in the first three months of the year compared with the same period a year earlier.
This peaked in March, immediately before the deadline, when first-time buyer completions were 113% higher than the same month a year earlier. Existing homeowner completions soared by 140% over the same period.
However, data shows there has been, and will be, a significant drop-off after the deadline.
Mortgage approvals for house purchases, which is an indicator of future borrowing, decreased for the fourth consecutive month in April, according to the latest figures from the Bank of England.
That reflects some of the affordability challenges faced by new buyers.
However, various commentators have suggested there is still some momentum in the UK housing market, mainly due to low levels of unemployment.
"Despite wider economic uncertainties in the global economy, underlying conditions for potential home buyers in the UK remain supportive," said Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide.
The building society said house prices rose by 0.5% in May, following a slight drop in April. It said property values were up by 3.5% over the last year, meaning the average home cost £273,427.
Maternity services at the trust are at the centre of the largest inquiry of its kind in NHS history
A corporate manslaughter investigation has been opened into failings at maternity units in Nottingham, police have said.
Nottinghamshire Police said it was examining whether maternity care provided by the Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS trust had been grossly negligent.
The trust is at the centre of the largest maternity inquiry in the history of the NHS, with about 2,500 cases being examined by independent midwife Donna Ockenden.
The police investigation will centre on two maternity units overseen by the trust, which runs the Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital.
In a statement on the force's website, Det Supt Matthew Croome, from the investigation team, said corporate manslaughter was a "serious criminal offence".
He said detectives were "looking to see if the overall responsibility lies with the organisation rather than specific individuals".
Plans to fast-track the remodelling of the UK's flight paths could lead to quicker flights and fewer delays for passengers, the government says.
Ministers are set to announce the creation of the UK Airspace Design Service (UKADS) later which will re-design the routes planes must take over UK airspace - many of which were decided around 70 years ago.
The initial shake-up will focus on modernising the complex airspace in and around London.
Cagne, a community aviation and environment group for Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, has warned the plans could mean there would be new flight paths over houses that are not currently affected.
Ministers say the plans could allow planes to climb quicker during take off and descend more smoothly.
The plans are also aiming at helping reduce aviation's climate change impacts and pave the way for new technologies like flying taxis.
"Modernising our airspace is also one of the simplest ways to help reduce pollution from flying and will set the industry up for a long-term, sustainable future," aviation minister, Mike Kane, said.
The changes would allow the largest re-design of UK airspace since it was first formed in the 1950s.
Leah Washington-Pugh said while she and husband Joe can never move on from the Smiler crash they "couldn't be happier"
A couple who were seriously injured in the Smiler rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers say they can "never move on" from it, but still "couldn't be happier".
Now married, Leah Washington-Pugh, then 17 and 18-year-old Joe Pugh, from South Yorkshire, were on a date when their Smiler carriage rammed into another at the Staffordshire theme park, 10 years ago.
Leah's legs were crushed, forcing the amputation of her left leg above the knee whilst both of Joe's kneecaps were shattered and some of his fingers severed in the crash, they said was "equivalent to driving into a car at 90mph".
The crash, on 2 June 2015, led to operator Merlin being fined £5m, with compensation paid to the 16 victims.
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The couple, who were on a date at the time, have since married
Remembering the day, the couple said they had made a beeline for the ride as soon as they had entered the park.
Technical difficulties had delayed them getting on, but "I never thought anything of it," said Leah.
After eventually setting off, their carriage had "gone around a corner and crashed straight into the empty cart," she explained.
"I think if I remember rightly if you compare it to a car accident it was the equivalent of driving into a car at 90 miles and hour, it was pretty severe," added Joe.
"And then I looked down at my legs and realised that something wasn't right," said Leah.
"I looked at Joe and Joe's little finger was hanging off."
Stranded on the ride for about four hours, she credits emergency workers for saving her life.
"The air ambulance was flying in blood for me because I was just losing that much," she said.
"If it wasn't for the air ambulance and other services on the day I know I wouldn't be here today."
'Learn to live again'
Following her rescue, Leah spent five days in intensive care and was in hospital for eight weeks.
After being discharged "navigating life in normal surroundings was quite difficult at the start," she said.
"We had to learn not only how to walk again and live again, but how to build a relationship again with each other," added Joe.
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Sixteen people were injured on 2 June 2015, including two who went on to have leg amputations
The couple said supporting each other through their recovery had been "really important".
"Yes, our injuries were there and everything else around us was going off, but we still had that relationship and friendship and that got us through everything."
"Fast forward 10 years we're both really happy," continued Joe.
"We're now married, we're almost a year into us marriage, we've got a beautiful home together we couldn't be happier."
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The couple attended Staffordshire Justice Centre in 2016 where operator Merlin admitted health and safety breaches
The crash was "utterly shocking" and "unlike anything that had ever happened the world over," according to one industry expert.
Vicky Balch, of Leyland, Lancashire, also needed a partial leg amputation after the crash.
"Knowing quite a bit about the theme park industry, it was a shock as to how it could have happened and what would have been the cause," said European Coaster Club journalist Marcus Gaines.
"The incident attracted worldwide attention which shows how rare and unusual it was and what a major incident it was," he added.
Marcus Gaines
Journalist Marcus Gaines says lessons have been learned since the crash in 2015
Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd admitted breaches of the Health and Safety Act in what bosses called "the most serious incident" in Alton Towers' history.
Imposing the fine on Merlin, Judge Michael Chambers QC said the crash had been foreseeable, but accepted the company which owns Alton Towers had subsequently taken full and extensive steps to remedy the problems that led to it happening.
'Unprecedented'
Mr Gaines added that at the time the UK was recognised as one of the leading experts in amusement park safety.
"Lots of other countries don't have any real regulation about ride safety," he said.
He said safety measures put in place since the crash included visual checks where staff physically inspect the entire length of the track to ensure it is clear.
"We've had this horrific accident, but it is unprecedented that that accident happened," Mr Gaines continued.
"I think the fact that we haven't seen anything like that before, and we've not seen anything like it in the 10 years since, shows what high standards we do have in the UK."
Reflecting on a decade since the crash, Leah said: "You've always got to find the positive in the negative and just got to grab life, because it's so precious, and make the most of it".
The couple are using the anniversary to host a ball to support the Staffordshire Air Ambulance, Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the LimbBo Foundation, a charity which supports limb-different children.
The events of 2015 were "tragic", Leigh added, but had also "fetched a lot of happiness and experiences that we would never have had".
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Marcus Gaines
