Seen in the News

[Tizer]

Trump's got a dysfunctional brain - it's time they retired him and let him build a White House out of Lego and play with his toy soldiers!

My hatred of Musk has just been elevated even further. I know he had, on and off, let the Ukraine military use his Starlink satellite system but I didn't know that he was letting Russian soldiers use it too! Musk and Trump have got a lot of blood on their hands...
`Musk cuts Starlink access for Russian forces - giving Ukraine an edge at the front'

[Big Kev]

Looks like they've caught up with him.

BBC News - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c70kjr9wjw0t
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office - live updates - BBC News

[Tripps]

Was it planned to be on his birthday!
Did the four car loads of detectives that did the deed, sing a chorus of Happy Birthday to him before feeling his collar?
I do hope so.

PS - Gordon Brown's five page memoto the Thames Valley Chief Constable and others, is a bit strange. Reminds me of Billy Bunter "it wasn't me that stole Mauleverer's cake" when no one had accused him.

PPS - I think none of this woud have happened but for the death of QEII. She shielded Andrew, and bought him out of trouble. They say now that she lent him seven millons of the twelve millions that he payed to a woman he had never met. The monarchy will be lucky to survive in its present form. Andrew Lownie is working on a book about Prince Philip. There was an unwritten agreement that the press did not publish all of his behaviours.

I think a voluntary DNA test on the whole gang would be interesting. 'If there's nothing to hide - there's nothing to fear.' as they say.

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has denied any wrongdoing.

[Stanley]

I've just seen the news..... couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke....

[PanBiker]

I had to switch to Al Jazeera News to get anything other than the constant speculation about AMW. No need to repeat everything ten times over.

[Stanley]

I agree Ian....HERE'S something entirely unconnected....
5 hours ago
When the police visited Ashley Warren's home in Jaywick, Essex, he told them his XL bully dogs were misunderstood, even suggesting they were less vicious than a poodle. Yet 10 days later, and two days after their ownership became illegal without a certificate of exemption, they mauled his mother-in-law to death. Esther Martin, 68, had been left in the property with the two dogs, eight puppies and a child while Warren filmed a music video in London on 3 February 2024. The amateur rapper was alerted to screams coming from his property in Hillman Avenue and demanded "someone that's strong, really strong" went immediately. But it was too late. Martin suffered "dozens and dozens" of catastrophic bites and was dead within minutes. Warren, 41, was arrested upon his return to Clacton railway station and became the first person in the UK to be charged with XL bully-related offences. He has now been found guilty of owning one of the dogs, called Bear, responsible for killing Martin. He was cleared of being in charge of the other dog, Beauty, which also injured Martin, but belonged to his girlfriend.

[Tizer]

Astronomers already hate Elon Muskrat, he's going to make it practically impossible for them to carry out their research from Earth. Of course his response would be `When I set up my palace on the Moon you'll be able to do it even better from there (for a small fee of course!). In the meantime he's polluting Earth so that he can use it as an excuse for trying to put humans on other planets and moons...
`SpaceX rocket fireball linked to plume of polluting lithium' BBC
When a SpaceX rocket failure set the skies aflame over western Europe last February, no-one was sure if the debris was also polluting our atmosphere. Now scientists are directly linking the uncontrolled rocket re-entry to a plume of lithium measured less than 100km above Earth. It is the first time researchers have drawn a direct link between a known piece of space debris crashing to Earth and pollution levels. They warn that as SpaceX chief Elon Musk pledges to launch one million satellites in the coming years, this contamination could be the tip of the iceberg....

[Tizer]

Mrs Tiz passed on this story showing what residents in Cornwall are now facing...
`Winter storms trigger mineshaft collapses' LINK

Back in November this was in the news too...
`Sinkhole car still stuck after three weeks' LINK

[Stanley]

THIS caught my eye....
8 hours ago
US President Donald Trump's latest tariff changes have heightened uncertainty for businesses and consumers, industry experts and economists say. The changes followed a Supreme Court ruling on Friday that Trump could not use a 1977 law - the International Emergency Economic Powers Act - to levy taxes on imports from nearly every country in the world. On Saturday, Trump signed a proclamation using an alternative law, Section 122 of 1974's Trade Act, that would let him put a new 10% temporary tariff on goods from all countries. Then on Saturday he posted on social media that he would be increasing these tariffs to 15%. The latest announcement raises uncertainties for countries, including the UK and Australia who had previously negotiated 10% tariff deals with the US. While other comments from Trump have heightened fears that new levies could be imposed on goods that have been exempted until now. Many questions about what might happen next remain unanswered, said William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). "There is a weariness about the constant changes, the lack of any clarity and certainty in terms of tariffs, and therefore the prices that companies can charge for the goods in terms of customers in the US," he said. "[Businesses] are frustrated and exasperated at the constant changes in policy."

[Tizer]

What will Donald Trump make of this when he's claiming to be making a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine?..
`Iran signs secret missile deal with Russia, FT reports' February 22, 2026 Kyiv Independent
[The FT article is behind a paywall]
Iran has signed a secret 500 million euro ($589 million) deal with Russia to acquire thousands of advanced shoulder-fired missiles, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Feb. 22, citing leaked Russian documents and sources familiar with the agreement. The arms deal was signed in Moscow in December, and requires Russia to send Iran 500 "Verba" Man-Portable Air-Defense System (MANPADS) launch units and 2,500 9M336 surface-to-air missiles over three years, FT reports....The agreement between Russia and Iran was negotiated between Russian state weapons exporter Rosoboronexport and a representative of Iran's Defense Ministry and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), according to FT. Iran officially requested the missile systems in July 2025, following U.S. and Israeli strikes in June.....

Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service previously reported in August that Iran had sought help from Belarus to restore its damaged air defense and electronic welfare systems after the escalation with Israel. Iran will receive the pledged weapons in three tranches from 2027 to 2029, according to the delivery schedule set out in the deal. Russia and Iran have deepened cooperation in recent years, with Tehran supplying drones and other military equipment used by Russian forces in the war against Ukraine. The two countries held joint naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean on Feb. 19, amid reports that U.S. Armed Forces had deployed warships near Iran and were preparing for possible strikes.

[Stanley]

Was Zelensky right yesterday when he said that Putin has started WW3 and must be stopped?

See THIS simple but amazing story......
17 minutes ago
A baby boy has become the first child in the UK to be born using a womb transplanted from a deceased donor. Grace Bell, who is in her 30s and was born without a viable womb, says her little boy Hugo, who is now 10 weeks old, is "simply a miracle". Bell and her partner Steve Powell, from Kent, paid tribute to the "kindness and selflessness" of the donor and her family for their "incredible gift", while also thanking medical teams in Oxford and London who supported their journey. The surgeons involved said the birth was "a ground-breaking moment", which could give hope to many more women with a similar diagnosis.

[Stanley]

See THIS latest update and thentell me if you are as confused as I am....
The Metropolitan Police has apologised to the Commons Speaker for "inadvertently revealing" he was the source of information relating to Lord Mandelson's arrest on Monday. It comes after Sir Lindsay Hoyle confirmed he had passed on information to the force suggesting the peer could be a flight risk. Lord Mandelson's lawyers have complained about the Met's decision to detain him as part of its probe into misconduct in public office allegations. They say he had agreed to an interview next month, and the decision to take him into custody was prompted by a "baseless" suggestion he was planning to "take up permanent residence abroad".

[Stanley]

See THIS live reporting from Gorton and Denton....
Ballots are being counted in the Gorton and Denton by-election, where locals have been voting for their next MP. The result is due in the early hours of Friday morning - a close race between Labour, Reform UK, and the Greens is expected. Turnout was 47.62% of the electorate - slightly lower than at the 2024 general election, when it was 47.8%. The vote was triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Andrew Gwynne on health grounds - a full list of candidates is here. Chris Mason analysis: If Labour fail to win, it'll be awkward for them if Reform are the victors - and arguably doubly awkward if it is the Greens. Meanwhile, election observers say they witnessed "concerningly high" levels of "family voting" at polling stations - a claim disputed by the council
I get the feeling that Labour might find they made a big mistake by not allowing Andy Burnham to stand......

Later at 04:37. ....
Greens first, Reform second, Labour third.
Hannah Spencer (Green Party): 14,980 votes
Matt Goodwin (Reform UK): 10,578 votes
Angeliki Stogia (Labour Party): 9,364 votes

The only good thing about this is that Reform didn't win. However, Labour third is a disaster.

[Tizer]

The results don't surprise me, not because I think the other parties are worse than the winners but because it's a local election and and the folk voting are concerned more about what they see around them than the bigger picture (and I'm not criticising them, I'd be doing the same). In a national election people pay more attention to the parties before voting for them. For example, many who voted in this election ticked the Greens just to send a message to the other parties but if they look a bit closer they'll begin to see the downside of the Greens. For example, they'll drop support for Ukraine and let Putin believe he an push further into Europe.

[Stanley]

You are right Peter and this has always been the hidden trap of by-elections. But what can't be avoided is placing blame where it belongs.... at the head of the Party. I have always said that Starmer is the wrong man and he is proving it in spades.....

[Tizer]

I looked through OG but was surprised not to find this morning's news. I'd been expecting it because yesterday the UK gov told Brits to leave our embassy in Tehran....
`US and Israel carry out joint attack on Iran as Tehran launches retaliatory strikes' https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn5ge95q6y7t
US and Israel launch an attack on Iran, as President Donald Trump confirms "major combat operations" are under way and calls for a regime change. The Israel Defense Forces says retaliatory strikes have been launched by Iran - explosions have been heard in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. Trump has urged Iranians to "take over" the Iranian government, saying "it will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations."

This a very bad move by Trump because he's done it in league with Israel. Arab leaders will not be pleased and antisemitic groups and terrorists will be fired up. Also, as usual there doesn't seem to be any plan for what happens after Trump and Netanyahu's `special operation'. Promises of Trump Towers in Iranian cities perhaps?

[Cathy]

My daughter is flying home this weekend. Earlier this evening I was trying to follow her flight, and couldn’t make any sense of was happening/ not happening. Then I received a quick message from her, saying “Our flight has been turned back to Munich, due to Doha airspace being closed, assuming because of Iran stuff. Will let you know when we know more.”
That was about 5 hours ago.

[Wendyf]

I hope she isn't delayed for too long Cathy.

[Stanley]

Quote: "The usual flood of flights over Iraqi air space has stopped". There's a lot going on there at the moment Cathy.....

[Cathy]

Still haven’t heard anything yet.

[Big Kev]

Screenshot_20260228-182434.png

Click to enlarge

Everyone's going around. Probably a sensible move, it's about lively there at the moment.