At a specialist treatment centre in Ukraine, as other amputees play volleyball nearby, Vladislav shows a video on his phone of how he lost his left leg. “The numbers here are truly humbling,” says Mike, a British rehab consultant and an army lieutenant colonel, who is part of the UK team helping out. “I’m proud that the UK is stepping up to ensure wounded Ukrainian soldiers get the best possible treatment,” said John Healey, the defence secretary, praising their work. View image in fullscreen Injured veterans playing volleyball at the rehabilitation centre in Kyiv region. After he arrived at the treatment centre, a succession of further surgeries proved necessary.

In a poignant recount of her father's immigrant story from the 1960s, broadcaster Narinder Kaur illuminated the struggles he faced while working tirelessly in a steel foundry. They were hard workers, hard graft, in a tumultuous time for the country. “My dad came from India in the early 60s and went straight into hard labour. The new immigrants ALSO are desperate to work and make a life for themselves,” she said.Kaur concluded by urging a change in how immigrants are viewed in 2026. She highlighted every instance of resilience, dedication, and contribution of immigrant families to British society.

Last month, the Minister for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook, described further adjustments to the policy – sparking fresh concerns. Previously, the Government was talking about lighter rules to developments of 10–49 homes on sites up to one hectare. Affordable housingAt the moment, councils usually require a proportion of homes to be provided as affordable housing on sites of a certain size. Local plansCouncils will be required to set aside more land for small-to-medium housing sites when they draw up their local plans. “This is the most significant rewrite of planning rules in over a decade and will fix the broken system we inherited.”

But today, Zohran Mamdani became the first socialist mayor of New York City. In New York at the turn of the century, Jewish workers created a secular, socialist, but specifically Yiddish world. “Where is the synagogue of our Jewish workers? In 1914, these neighborhoods sent Jewish socialist labor lawyer Meyer London to Congress. In 1920, five New York socialist assemblymen were expelled from office on accusations of disloyalty.

In New York City, and everywhere else I’ve been, 2025 was the year when everybody learned his name. I moved from Egypt to Seattle in 2000, and then to New York City a year after the September 11 attacks. “The capital of linguistic diversity, not just for the five boroughs (of New York City), but for the human species, is Queens,” Rebecca Solnit and Joshua Jelly-Schapiro wrote in Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas. As is Republican New York City councilwoman Vickie Paladino, who called for the “expulsion of Muslims” in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre. The year after I moved to New York City, my brother and his wife had a daughter – my own immediate family’s first US citizen.

Daisies and dandelions are among hundreds of native plant species blooming in the UK, in what scientists have called a “visible signal” of climate breakdown disrupting the natural world. “This new analysis shows a very clear link between rising temperatures and impacts on our plant species,” said Walker. Last week, the Met Office said 2025 was likely to be the UK’s hottest year on record. Debbie Hemming, a vegetation expert at the Met Office, said it was “tangible evidence” that climate breakdown was directly influencing the world around us. “These findings underscore how rising temperatures and increasing climate extreme events are shifting the natural cycles of our plants and wildlife,” she said.

With the misery of England’s Ashes cricket debacle, we’ve got high hopes for better things in the Six Nations rugby. If that turns into another sporting flop, how about our chances in the football World Cup next summer? What are the chances of achieving something respective councils have failed to do over the past 18 years? But we want to see the promised shops, flats and leisure venues - or should that be commerces, appartements et lieux de loisirs? On a positive note, yes there are some vacant shops in Taunton, but we fare a lot better than most towns around the country.

I always knew I was adopted: my mum told me that, as well as her, I had my “tummy mummy”. One day, one of my co‑ workers, Julia, noticed my Dominican Republic flag tattoo. About three weeks later, my results were ready. A year later, I got a message from someone named Molly, who was also adopted from the Dominican Republic. Two and a half weeks later, in January 2021, the results came back.

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Alexander Isak has suffered a long-term injury. Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven has revealed details of a text exchange with Liverpool striker Alexander Isak following the striker's devastating injury setback. The ankle injury occurred when Isak was caught by van de Ven whilst scoring the Reds' opening goal in a 2-1 victory over Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Read our Privacy PolicyVan De Ven has now revealed the contents of the message he sent to Isak after the high-intensity Premier League clash. Alexander Isak of Liverpool scores but suffers an injury during the Premier League match between Tottenham and Liverpool.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, announced on X that the Kennedy Center board had “voted unanimously” to rename it the Trump Kennedy Center. Whitehouse, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, remains undeterred and determined to press on with his investigation. Your focus on simple rental fees is no way to run an institution as diverse as the Kennedy Center. The investigation notes reports that the Kennedy Center is operating over budget amid falling ticket sales. He wants to be in the middle of it so you can see the Kennedy Center as a venue for him to put himself in front of people and seek accolades and admiration would be fairly irresistible.

Although humans don’t hibernate, our bodies do slow down when nights are long and the weather is colder. Kimberly Dienes, a lecturer in clinical and health psychology at Swansea University, recommends saving your resolutions until the spring weather arrives. Come March, you’ll have a far higher chance of success with some gentle spring resolutions. But she cautions against setting yourself up to fail by being too ambitious: our bodies still need time to recover from the winter dip. My new year’s resolution will be to leave it until spring …

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MARKS and Spencer has helpfully revealed its opening hours over the New Year. When is M&S open over New Year’s? The January sale has started at Marks and Spencer, with up to 50 per cent off. The vast majority of M&S stores across the UK are closed on New Year’s Day, allowing staff to enjoy the bank holiday with their families. Also, some stores located in travel hubs and service stations are continuing to operate.

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Looking ahead to the mayor stepping aside and his successor, Zohran Mamdani, being sworn in at midnight, Cohen turned to the camera and ranted: “I’d like to say, watching the final moments of Mayor Adams’ chaotic, horrible…“I just want to say, I mean he’s got his pardons, he’s pardoned. “I will say this,” Cohen sneered. I think he got rid of some of the rats, but isn’t that a metaphor of sorts? The Post adds that Cohen has form when it comes to outbursts against mayors, fuming similarly about Bill de Blasio when he left office in 2022.